Sonic X Series 3: Dark Ages
by Kojiokida2
Summary: Sonic's up against villians ranging from Fang the Sniper, the mysterious Void and even the return of the evil Metal Sonic. Will he succeed in defending the world or will the demonic god Krish claim domiance? Dark Ages is now offically finished!
1. Episode 1

I do not own Sonic..etc.)

* * *

(I'm glad so many people liked my last series, Sonic X 2: Advanced.

Well, I said I'd write it, and here's the start. The third series, Dark Ages!

To recap on the events, (for the benefit of those who haven't read my past fics) , hands up those of you who thought the final sagas of the original Sonic X were pathetic? An insult to Sonic's good name? Well that is why I started this little project, to provide a continuation worthy of what Sonic X could have been. Well, last time…

-

****

Eggman Empire supporters unleashed the revived Biolizard on Sonic and Shadow in an effort to destroy them, clearing the way for Eggman's invasion fleet that waits in orbit. Alone, neither Sonic nor Shadow had the power to defeat the creature and it was only when Metal Sonic sacrificed himself to save their lives from a blast that they merged into Nazo. During the fight, The Biolizard was put down once and for all. The victory however was not without it's price for after separating, Sonic was found in a coma and Shadow had disappeared altogether.

All the while, Eggman's invasion descends, armed with a deadly new technology that captures innocent people, imprisoning them as organic batteries within automated armoured robots called Badniks.

-

In this series they'll be a lot more character building, something the original Sonic X had a sufficient lack off. For those of you to wanted to see relationships develop between characters, I will have Sonic and Amy moving closer but I doubt Sonic has the character traits needed to get into something like that seriously, so watch this space. I don't like Chris, I never liked Chris. He was meant to be a simple bystander for Sonic's adventures, but to that end I'll be building up his character to what it was supposed to be instead of what it was.

So I hope people like this series as much as my last one. And for people who want to who, once I finish this series I will do one final chapter for a Movie Adaptation. But you'll just have to wait for that.

So without any further ado, let's get on with it….

* * *

Prologue:

The explosions filled the air and shook the ground and the car went cascading off the side of the highway crashing into the barrier. Missile fire smashed into a tyre and the vehicle coursed straight off the road away from the oncoming traffic that was streaming out of the city towards the country.

A loud thud echoed across the expanse of highway as a pair of large metallic, flat feet landed on the road. Feet, that belonged to an Imperial Dreadnaught, the feared front line Mech's of the Eggman Empire. Larger than a standard coach, with silver armour across it's large legs and arms. Missile compartments and gun turrets on the shoulders and forearms, capable of decimated everything within ten feet.

A pair of large, yellow optics swerved around, staring at the moving objects around it. Most were registered as non hostiles, to be ignored unless they attacked first. The car it had been shooting at however, contain the spy that it's master program registered as an enemy. And as an enemy, it saw only one course of action.

****

-Terminate with extreme prejudice-

Kicking the door to one of his most prize Honda's open, Sam Speed; leader of the S-Team peace keep force tore a gun from his jacket and fired several shots straight at the machine that began to march towards him. The bullets simply bounced off the armoured alloy that covered it's frame, inflicting only small scorch marks. Raising on large arm, several flaps inside the forearm opening up, a large machine gun turret sliding out to the right hand side.

Without wasting a second, Sam dived to the side and onto the roof of speeding car that soured off down the high way, following the chaotic source of civilians that poured out of New York City. The machine gun opened fire, sending a thin line of bullets coursing up the road after him, sending just one bullet away from striking Sam's get away vehicle.

Putting distance between himself and the robot did little to ensure his safety, as a jet pack on the back of the machine soured to life and it switched from combat to mobile mode. Souring along the road, it quickly began to close the distance.

"Sir." Sam began, sliding down into the car side, knocking the diver, an oldinto the passenger seat with his son. "Sam Speed, U.S defence force. I'm just borrowing your car for a while." He added, briefly flashing his badge at them before slamming the accelerator down to the floor, the outdated Rover roaring in protest as he forced it to go faster. Coming level with the car, The robot's entire torso rotated ninety degrees and fired a barrage of bullets straight at the vehicle, shattering the windows but thankfully without hitting anyone inside. Sam tore out his gun again and fired several shots, with only sheer dumb luck enabling him to hit the robot straight in one of it's large yellow sending, paralysing it's optic's systems. As it pulled away, Sam handed the wheel back to the confused old man, telling him to keep it going as fast as he could. The old man was only too happy to oblige, having being shot at by the giant killing machine.

The traffic around them began to intensify, filling with the vehicles of frightened civilians, desperately trying to flee the city with one of the Empire's raids on. Instead of remaining in their homes, like countless hours of Government broadcasts, most preferred to run for places they believed safe. "Come on, where are you?" Sam asked himself as he climbed back onto the roof, staring out across the highway. The robot, it's optics systems now back online came charging back again, switching from gun fire to missiles as several large pads inside it's shoulders opened up. "Oh crap." The human crushed as two missiles came flying out towards him. "FASTER!" He screamed down at the old man, who had seen the robot and floored it. Luckily, missiles included in a Dreadnaught ammunition resources were not heat seeking and missed.

Just as the robot came souring up to the side of the car, from nowhere it seemed, a large hammer came flying; striking it across the head. As the whole machine tumbled back towards the ground, the flying hammer arched through the air and returned to the hand of it's owner.

Amy Rose had traded in her old hammers for something far more deadly. This hammer only had on blunt side, but on the other side was a large curved spike like a blade like edge. The shaft of her weapon was at least as long as she was, giving her a far greater swing range. Despite her pink fur, Amy appeared as an almost intimidating sight. Her hammer balanced over her shoulder. Her green eyes blaring in her shadow, fixed directly on the robotic Mech as it pulled itself to it's feet. The pink hedgehog had replaced her red head band with a pair of headphones, which did the same job and made a fashion statement.

The Dreadnaught raised it's machine gun and before it's damaged sensors could register what happened, it found that it's entire limb had been bashed off by a quick swing as Amy slid in. As if Sonic's speed guided her movements, Amy brought her hammer backwards, catching the blade end of her hammer on the robot's chest plate; ripping it outwards. Her entire body spinning around, the blunt end finally reconnected with it's target with an ear splitting crack that sent it flying off the side of the highway and down a steep ditch, smashed into further pieces.

Spinning herself around as the car speed off into the distance, Amy confronted two more Dreadnaughts that landed with a deafening thump on the roadside, cars swerving to avoid their sudden appearance.

Amy had changed. Purposely she had strained to shrug off the timid girl she had been when she'd first meet Sonic. This was a different kind of Amy, just as courageous as Sonic. She had to be in order to survive. Bringing her hammer back, she leapt forward into battle once again.

S.O.N.I.C; GO!

S.O.N.I.C;GO!

Breaking the rules up until yesterday,

today being just generally loose,

With a punk philosophy,

saying to no longer run

towards the best goal,

that there is no meaning elsewhere.

With my biorhythm doubled,

the scenery is just countless lines

as the wind surrounds me.

I don't want to be

attacking Inside, Outside,

surpassing absolutely everything,

leaving nobody and nothing ahead.

Inside Outside GO! SONIC!

Absolutely Everything Yes! SONIC!

"Look Out!" and "Have a Nice" 1

the difference is paper thin.

Throw away the boredom, and just start running.

S,O,N,I,C GO!

S,O,N,I,C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO, LET'S GO!

* * *

Saga 1: The Egg War Saga

Episode 1: Rise of the Eggman state.

-

-

The era that became known as the docile years officially ended with the rise of the Eggman Empire. With no Sonic to stand in his way, Dr. Eggman's influence grew. His forces landed, unchallenged, on earth attacking military targets at will, reducing G.U.N strength dramatically.

Supporters of his empire joined with him, disabling the worlds defences even further. His armies moved across the planet's surface, striking fear into the populace of every nation as they ransacked bases world wide.

Six months past since his campaign began and everywhere across the planet, giant towering with the Eggman Empire symbol blaring out at the top were being erected to mark their claimed territories. Towering constructs created from scorched red metal, lined with twisting wires and cables, ugly turrets sticking out the top capable of blasting anyone who came too close. As more of them emerged every day, people took it was a sign that their Governments were about to crash and burn.

As the ransacking continued, the President _(re-elected in a landslide due to fears that he was more experienced with dealing with the threat) _gave emergency powers to the military defence force. The United Nations had agreed that if the world was to stave off this threat, they would have no choice but to join together into one Government. It took a lot of debating, but eventually it was agreed that it was in the world's best interests if G.U.N itself was allowed to govern.

As Major of Freelance Division, the military elite defence response team, it was Koji Naoki's job to oversee Mech production and combat. After seizing some of the technology that General Saddler, _'Eggman's strongest supporter'_, had been hording, manufacture of Yahger, Raptor and Turtle Walkers was now in full swing. Without those, it would have been near impossible to fend off the Eggman Empire for as long as they had. The Doctor's new Dreadnaught mark 2's were far more heavily armed than their walkers, but lacked manoeuvrability.

The Major was a vampire bat with thick chestnut brown fur in a middle parting along his head between his large ears. His eyes were a bright flaxen yellow, with a red ring around the pupils. Around his shoulders he wore a red drape: no one knew why exactly, but it seemed almost to have some religious significance for him.

"They're everywhere." Tails complained, looking over a holographic map of the western coastline. Within the last month, entire cities down that stretch had come under brutal attack and few buildings had been left standing. The entire nation was on the verge of collapse and their efforts were seemingly the only thing that was keeping everything together at the moment. The map showed red blotches where attacks had taken placed, there were over twenty of them already, and more were emerging every day. "It's just not possible to deploy our limited forces this quickly." The major sighed out load, looking over the foxes shoulder as the display. Tails had taken to wearing a pair of goggles in his head fur, disrupting the qiff of fur that lanced out over his eyes. The two of them were inside one of G.U.N stronghold bases. Technicians and base personnel running this way and that trying to keep on top of the violent in-pile of work the situation was imposing one them.

This particular facility had a Walker bay currently housing a dozen of the newest Mechs. The newest type, Turtle Mech's were shorter than the others by processed far superior firepower and armour plating. In a battle situation, these machines could successfully be used as artillery. They were tank shaped with treads and large plates of armour over their backs which could be moved backwards to reveal a variety of weaponry.

"I know." Okida replied wearily. "Eggman has us outnumbered and out manoeuvred. His forces can strike anywhere and anytime, and we've no way of stopping him." The rings under his eyes showed a culmination of sleepless nights, spent either planning counter attacks in the war room or helping the Mech forces defend outposts from attack. He brushed most of it off. He could sleep, _AFTER_, they took down Eggman. "The problem is that they aren't giving us a front to use. They strike, decimate the place, then vanish; leaving one of those citadels in their wake."

"Like a signature." Tails agreed. "Eggman's strategy is to intimidate his enemies before he even thinks about…" A sudden, startled look came over the foxes face. "Oh!" He added looking up.

"Just had a brain storm?" Okida asked with a quizzical look. "Please share…"

"We've been going about this all wrong." He began quietly, looking over the map for anything to strengthen his cooked up theory. "We've been trying to predict the next attack like it's a rationalized, traditional army we're fighting. But Eggman isn't a rationalized, traditional enemy. He doesn't attack targets for strategic advantage, he attacks them for his own sadistic pleasure. To inflict fear." Okida rubbed one eye and looked up, interest finally filtering onto his face.

"I think you've got something there." He replied, taking new interest with the map. "Instead of trying to predict this attacks which would make sense militaristically…" Tails began.

"We predict the targets that he might attack to spread fear." Okida stated, completing the sentence with a wide smile spreading over his face. "Tails, I could kiss you!" He paused, seeing the sudden scared look over the foxes face.

"Sir." Sam Speed announced, saluting as he entered the room.

"Back then?" Okida asked flatly hardly paying any attention to him as Tails began studying the map again. "Well how'd it go?"

"It's just as intelligence estimated. Surveillance reports a total of forty five citadels in this country alone and we're still no closer to finding out how their built so quickly." The Major grunted and the information seemed to be instantly updated on the map, adding another dozen to their original estimate.

"Sonic sure picked a great time to take a sixth month long nap."

* * *

Sonic couldn't tell exactly how long he'd been lying there, only that he had absolutely no desire to move what so ever. The blissful wet grass on his back and the pure blue sky above seemed to keep him content. He sighed and put his arms behind his head getting himself really comfortable. There wasn't any sound in this place other than the sounds of birds in the trees on the other side of the river, the small giggle of the river itself. Within his line of sight, the hedgehog could also see a stone bridge that lead across the water to a ravine that ran behind some hills. A thick forest ran over those hills, stretching as far as he could see.

There were no distractions in this place, only a calm serenity that kept him pinned to that spot. He may have lain there for eons, but at some point the left something blocking the sunlight above. Briefly opening his eyes to see what the obstruction was, he came far to face with a pair of glowing red eyes. In that instant everything had changed, instantly the cloud was clouded over and it thundered with rain. The grass beneath him became dry and drown and the forests dried, becoming black sinister masses.

The creature above him was larger than any G.U.N mech with a pair of bull like horns stretching out either side of it's skull like head, insect like pincers lancing down from the mouth. Large curved spikes of bone protruded from the back of it's muscular shoulders and arms and down it's back, along a thick tail. It's entire body was covered in a thin black fur that highlighted it's glowing red eyes perfectly. The beast held up one cloven hand and snapped it's claws and whatever vegetation around the blue hedgehog was instantly engulfed in green fire. A very familiar green fire.

"Krish!" Sonic snarled, hurling himself backwards as a spiked tail swung around, nearly slamming itself into him. A horrible, rippling laugher escaped the creature as it's fire began to burn along it's shoulders. Now Sonic had the motivation to move but found that there was no where to run. All the ground around him vanished and he was left standing on the top of a very thin cliff face, trapped between a fall into the green fire and the creature itself.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sonic was afraid. Very afraid. He was visibly shaking, thick nervous sweat running down his face. Krish held a hand out towards the blue hedgehog, it's red eyes narrowing in sadistic pleasure before it fired a blast of fire straight at him, fire intensified by eons of hatred. With nowhere to run, Sonic caught the full extent of it and was hurled, screaming over the edge. As he fell, he heard the demonic creature's hideous laughter echoing in his ears.

****

"Suffer!" Came the demand, before the blue hedgehog was hurled into nothingness.

Cream looked up, seeing Sonic's hand twitch briefly. Emerl sensed her motion and looked himself, but saw nothing. Most of their group had taken turns to keep an eye on Sonic as he floated there day after day in that stasis tank, still in a deep sleep. It had been over half a year and still no chance. Some of the doctor's were beginning to give up hope of him ever waking up. Emerl however still maintained the belief that Sonic had the willpower necessary to survive.

The black and gold robot looked down at the rabbit nestled beside him on the chairs. She was half asleep, hardly able to keep her eyes open. Not that she needed to for much longer. Within another ten minutes her mother would be here to pick her up.

Emerl had taken it upon himself to stand guard over Sonic until he woke up. Without him, the robot would never have broken Robotnik's programming and become truly sentient.

There was a loud whooshing sound as the door at the far end of the chamber opened and Amy came in, with a sober look on her face; her gaze fixed on the sleeping blue hedgehog.

"Still nothing?" She asked, trying to hide a hint of frustration in her voice but failed all the same. Emerl shook his head. Amy sighed out load, taking up a seat beside him. She had taken Sonic's immobility the hardest and had strived to make herself just like him; in what Emerl guessed was a subconscious attempt at replacing his presence in the world until he woke up.

Visible, _apart from some significant style changes_, Amy had changed very little. But just one look at her emerald green eyes revealed an anxious frustration. It was likely she wouldn't want to talk about it, but Emerl could see she blamed herself for the way Sonic was now.

Amy sighed again and leaned back in her chair. She'd been able to get through to Nazo, to give him back some reason before he did some reckless, but that was short-lived as the fight with the revived Biolizard continued. She'd been there and she knew what she could have done something to stop Nazo before he used every ounce of his energy to blast the lizard into oblivion, putting Sonic in a coma and sending Shadow to goodness knows where.

Placed inside a large glass box on the other side of the room and linked up to the G.U.N mainframe was the other victim of the Biolizard's wrath. Metal Sonic had sacrificed himself to save Sonic and Shadow and now his body lay there, scarred beyond all physical recognition. He'd been so damaged that salvage of his body was out of the question. Chuck was designing a whole new body for him and when it was completed, he intended to transfer the robotic hedgehog's memory files into it. Blue prints of various designs, and prototype limbs half finished lay on the nearby table next to the box, an odd assortment of wires and cables scattered everywhere. Chuck had set up workshop here as Station Square was still a disaster area and the Thorndyke family were not being allowed back to their residence; no matter how influence Chris' father was.

"Hey, where's Chuck?" Amy asked seeing that the eccentric scientist was nowhere to be seen. Emerl shrugged.

* * *

Flip card 1:

Name: Koji Naoko Okida

Age; 23

Sex: Male

Species: Vampire Bat


	2. Episode 1, part 2

(This first Saga is in memory of Deem Bristow: the voice of Dr. Eggman in the greatest Sonic games to date. This man managed the voice of Sonic's nemesis for years and will be missed by fans around the world.) Thanks to Dark Qiviut for the suggestion.)

* * *

Flip card 2

Name;Amy Rose

Age;17

Sex;Female

Species: Hedgehog

* * *

United Kingdom:

"Don't think you've ever been to England?" Bean the Dynamite Duck; now Freelance Divisions top explosives expert, asked Bark. The polar bear was also a vital member of the Division and a techno-wizard to boot, even if he didn't look like it. The two of them were sitting in a hired out military chopper presently flying towards a large helicopter landing pad just on a hillside in the distance, the English countryside rolling out below them. The city of Bristol was a few further miles south; they were on their way to a manor just on the edge of some village nestled deep in the countryside.

The United Kingdom had been resisting Eggman's attempts to raid it's cities for months now. Out of all the nations involved England seemed to be the most patriotic fighters with their military force second only to G.U.N itself. Charles 'Chuck' Thorndyke sat in the chair behind them with his arms crossed looking out of the window towards the ground below. Chuck had been born here but had agreed to move with his family to America when his son was offered a once in a lifetime job opportunity. He liked America, but it was true what they said; there was no place like home.

"Nah not really." The polar bear replied to Bean's question, putting his arms behind his head leaning back in his chair. "I know a few mobians who wound up in this area after the world's merged but I've never been here myself." He shot a brief glance out the window. "Nice enough place though." Bean and Bark had been assigned to bodyguard the Professor on the trip abroad and since Chuck was the brightest engineer on the Government's pay roll they had obliged to keep him safe. With most more modern means of communication down Chuck had had little option but to come to England personally to speak with an old friend of his who, according to the E-mail he'd managed to send; said he has something of great scientific interest that Chuck should see for himself.

It had been one long jet flight to Heathrow airport and then another long flight in a G.U.N chopper and Bean was desperate to stretch his legs. Bark just sat quietly in his chair with his arms crossed, occasionally glancing out the window as they descended.

Landing on the H-pad, Chuck finally looked up from his daydreaming and returned to the real world; unfastening his seat belt as one of the pilots got out to open the door for their passengers.

Standing there on the road leading down from the pad waiting for them was a mobian Hare with chocolate brown fur; apart from over his muzzle and stomach which were a starched cream. One of his ears had suffered a nasty injury, a large bite mark imprinted on the left hand side. Two large tufts of hair stood out on the tip of each one. A red bandana was tied around his head, two holes cut out of the fabric for his ears. His hands were overly large, even for a mobian and seemed to be permanently in a fist. A large, army type jeep lay a few feet away with a set of laughable furry dice handing on the view mirror.

"About' Bloody time." He stated in a very strong Northern English accent, that didn't sound like anything either Bean or Bark would have expected. The hare waited impatiently, tapping a large foot on the ground and narrowing his large black eyes. "Looks fella's I don't have time for staring contests." He snapped irritably, before finally giving up on getting a decent reply out of the two of them. "Are you Chuck Thorndyke?" He asked the human scientist as they approached, the blades on the choppers behind them slowly winding down.

"You must be Alfred." Chuck stated and the Hare winced upon the hearing of his real name.

"Never…**_ever_**… mention that name in my presence." He said sternly, giving the human a glare so piercing it could have cut through a rock. "If anyone asks, my name is Hare." He added, before turning away and making his way over towards the jeep.

"Imaginative nickname." Bean remarked sarcastically under his breath as they got in the vehicle and the mobian hare drove them off down the hill.

Surprisingly, they didn't head towards the city. Instead, Hare drove them around a few country roads heading further up the hills towards the manor they'd seen from the air,

"Your friend owns this palace?" Bark asked as Hare stopped at a large set of iron gates leading onto a fabulous estate, a mansion like building with many barn like buildings around it standing at the far end of a stone driveway.

"I bet he wishes he did." Chuck replied with a laugh. "He just rents out one of the rooms."

"An apartment at the back, near the rear end of the estate." Hare added as the large gates swung apart granting them entrance. "The Professor was in financial trouble a few years ago and the owner of the land owed him a favour, so they set him up with the place on a fraction of the rent they'd usually demand." The jeep seemed to take the scenic route through the estate, passing my rolling lawns and rows of beautifully pruned trees.

"Do you work by this guy?" Bean asked. Hare shook his head as he pulled up in front of large building behind the mansion itself. It was house shaped with a thatched roof but had no door, only a wooden ladder leading up into a floor above.

"Nah, I just drive him from place to place now and then. Old Arti' and Me been palls for over a year now." Hare replied as Chuck climbed out of the jeep. "He put me up for a few days after a…**_misunderstanding_**…I had with the local bobby." Bean and Bark exchanged nervous glances.

"Why don't you too head off into town?" Chuck asked. "I'll be fine here."

"Well I don't know." Bark began.

"We have the biggest brewery this side of the Atlantic." Hare added dryly, giving the two of them in the back a sly look.

"We'll see you in three hours!" Bean stated, jumping into the now free front seat. In moments they were gone. Chuck laughed to himself before turning back as the trap door opened itself.

"Charles!" A voice stated as a human climbed down from the second floor. He was as old as Chuck and balding, yet despite his wrinkles the had on his eyes his brown eyes sparkled with youthful energy. He was dressed in simple jeans and top, a small blue scruff around his neck. "How have you been? Does America suit you?" Artimus had been one of Chuck's oldest friends. The two of them had gone to college together, learning under the same tutor. Chuck however had progressed into engineering while Artimus began the study of palaeontology.

"I've missed the currency and calling the bathroom a toilet but apart from that, I can't complain." Chuck replied with a wide grin as the two of them shook hands. "It's good to see you again Arti'."

Eventually, after much inane chatter, Artimus finally got around to showing Chuck what he had dragged him across the Atlantic to show him. Inside his rooms, which was a complete mess of papers, bear cans and other garbage strewn across the floor, Artimus rummaged through a pile of notes looking for what he was looking for.

"This is a rubbing sent to me by my college, Pr. Toriyama, doing archaeological work in Italy." He handed over the sheet of paper which had a printed fax image on it. It clearly showed two symbols repeating themselves over and over again, all in symmetrical lines. They were obvious a ancient form of writing, but not one Chuck was familiar with.

"Just what…" He began.

"Some form of an attempt at merging old Italian with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Probably undertaken when Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire were great powers in the Mediterranean, carbon dating selects the date for the tablet which the rubbing came from at around 130 BC." Artimus replied, looking sceptical all the same. "Toriyama has the more precise details, but from what he's been able to decipher these symbols…" He stopped to point at the rune like drawings on the paper. "Are numbers and when translated into English, this line anyway, reads directly as 011000011101010101000110." Chuck sat there blinking in surprise before it finally dawned on him.

"That's binary code." He stated with wide eyes. "Machine language." Artimus nodded enthusiastically. "But that doesn't make any sense. Binary code wasn't invented under the creation of the mordern computer." His old friend shrugged his shoulders.

"Toriyama has checked all other possibilities. It's binary code alright, and since you're the robotics expert, can you tell us what is means?" Chuck hesitated, before crunching the numbers in his head, that last line to the best of his ability.

"The codes incomplete." He announced after a moment of silence. "Unless I have access to the whole thing I won't be able to make heads or tails out of it."

"I thought as much." Artimus began sadly folding his arms. "Chuck, what I'm about to tell you, you have to keep to yourself." Chuck nodded slowly in response. "I believe Toriyama may have stumbled onto something beyond his understanding, something extremely dangerous."

"What makes you think that?" Artimus went over to a large collection of boxes on the far side of the room.

"Even before he unearthed his find I had suspicions about the people who funded his expedition. Powerful, influential people who donated generously; a little **_too_** generously." He reached into one of the boxes and withdrew something wrapped in a towel. "At the start of his excavation, he sent this piece to me for study." He unwrapped it, revealing the inside to be a small stone plate. Perfectly round, with a series of engraved runes on the side. But what caught Chuck's immediate attention was the symbol engraved directly in the middle.

It was a curved Chinese style Dragon. This was a symbol he had seen before. It was the symbol of an group that masqueraded behind the illusion of a Multi-million dollar corporation called the Foundation. According to Shadow, these people had been worshippers of the dark god Krish Kra Pal, a god idolized by the ancient Echidian civilisation of Mobius.

"I see…" It wasn't common knowledge that after their building collapsed, the Foundation was revealed to the Government as a secret cult. Artimus however, had contacts within G.U.N itself and was certainly in a position to learn of it.

"I tried to leave England to go to Italy myself, but my work here in United Kingdom takes priority. So, and this is ultimately why I asked you here, will you go to Italy and see for yourself what's going on?" Chuck hesitated, looking slightly stunned. "I know it's asking a lot, but I'm starting to get worried about Toriyama."

"Well I…."

"Please Charles?"

"Oh…well I suppose while I'm here in Europe I could make a slight detour." A wide smile spread over Artimus' features.

"I won't forget this Chuck, you're a good friend." Before Chuck could reply, the light coming in from the window began to die away as if some giant cloud had passed in front of the sun. It didn't pass, in fact it seemed to greater darker with each passing moment and through the air a loud humming sound began to resonate.

Bristol wasn't anything like the cities back in the States. Everything was far more urban; **_and green_** Bark was quick to notice as Bean downed his third pint.

"That's enough." The polar bear stated roughly, slapping a large gloved hand on the Dynamite Duck's shoulder to stop him from ordering another drink. "We're supposed to be on duty." The Duck hiccupped loudly. Hare, the rabbit like mobian who had been leading them on the tour around the city and the famous landmarks was busy paying the bill Bean had inadvertently run up.

"The next time, it's coming out of your wallet." He replied angrily, having paid well over twenty pounds for one round.

"Fine, **_Alfred_**." Bean chuckled to himself. Hare looked like he was about to burst into a rage when a dark shadow began falling over the streets, clouding the entire city in darkness.

Bean and Bark looked up as the shadow passed overhead, seeing dozens of large planes passing overhead. Huge constructs, shaped like a jumbo jet yet over twice as large. Everyone on the ground stopped in the daily course of their lives to look up at this unexpected thing. They were larger enough to be considered walker carriers belonging to G.U.N, if on their underside hadn't had the Eggman Empire's symbol laden across it, the face glaring down at the terrified citizenry as the doors at the back end of the planes opened up and uncountable numbers of Dreadnaughts began parachuting out.

As the robots set foot on the ground it shook under their weight, cars leapt into the air and windows shattered. Any police in the area was neutralised by those still in the air, missiles detonating squad cars, sending them crashing into the side of buildings. It only took several minutes, but after that time had elapsed the entire city of Bristol had been completely overrun with Dreadnaughts, forcing anyone who didn't resist into public buildings and terminating anyone who did. Resident G.U.N garrison forces tried to counter attack, but with the element of surprise in their favour; the Dreadnaughts tore through them with ease.

Watching from behind a dumpster, Bark saw several Flying Dogs attempt to attack the planes that soured overhead. Their attempt at retribution was easily squashed by several new robots that neither the polar bear nor Bark had ever seen before. They were smaller than Dreadnaughts and far more humanoid. A single red visor highlighting the centre of their heads, each hand armed with cloven talons. Armed with unyielding firepower, they blasted the drones out of the air.

With any resistance lying burning at their feet and while the larger Dreadnaughts took to the city limits to form a near impenetrable defensive ring, these smaller robots began patrolling the streets rounding up anyone who escaped the initial invasion.

"Attention civilians." A booming voice that echoed from the overhead planes stated, projected by a com system. It sounded more human than a computer synthesised voice. "You're city is now under our control. Resistance will be met with deadly force." Bean and Bark could not have known but similar scenes were happening in every major city in the British Isles. This was an extensively planned Imperial campaign to render England completely defenceless in one day.

Dr. Eggman had seen the strategic position Britain possessed and had chosen it to be the land upon which he constructed the foundation of his Empire. Already his forces were marching into London, the Prime Minster and the Royal Family his hostages. Eggman had just pulled of the largest and quickest change of Government in Earth's history. And best of all, Sonic had done absolutely nothing to stop them. Bean looked out from his hiding place as a large Dreadnaught Mech lumbered up the street, a searchlight from its shoulder vigorously scanning the ground for anything that moved.

"Bollocks!" Hare cursed angrily, quickly diving or the safety of the shadows before he could be detected.

Eggman himself stared out across his newly conquered territory with a wide smile on his face. This was the beginning of a glorious new era for the world. The Eggman Empire was finally a reality and soon, it's wars of expansion would begin. The Doctor held no respect for those power hunger fools who'd joined his empire, but he'd need them. Their brainwashing techniques would prove invaluable when the time came to convince the masses that the Eggman Empire would be the best thing that ever happened to them; the general public was amazingly weak willed. While Eggman preferred to intimidate his enemies into submission, he had to think about what was best for his Empire in the long term._"The city is contained, and reports from the divisions show that the operation was a complete success." _Becoe stated, looking up from a computer print out in his hands as he and his taller counterpart joined their master on a balcony overlooking the captured city. _"May I be the first to congratulate you Doctor on a successful campaign…England is all ours."_ Eggman cast him a glare over his shoulder._ "Er…all yours."_ The scientist grumbled something under his breath and turned back to marvel at his first conquest. The majority of London was still intact but a few of them would have to go. This country was no longer England, so it couldn't definitely do without Buckingham Palace.

"Did any of G.U.N's garrison troops get away?" He asked._"We caught them by surprise sir and most have either been killed or captured."_ Decoe, the larger taller robot replied. _"However, we have reports that a few managed to evacuate across the channel."_ Eggman didn't reply, he simply put his left hand to his chin and began contemplating. If some of them got away then within hours G.U.N would know that England had fallen. It was a far small time scale than he had originally predicted, but it didn't really matter. It had just pushed his schedule ahead by twenty four hours.

"Begin construction of the factories in every major city and the assembly of defences. I want full productive capability within the week." It felt strangely satisfying issuing his first order as ruler of a country. "Meanwhile, I have a television appearance to attend."

* * *

(In Chris voice)

Eggman's off to a good start and Sonic's still out cold. Will Tails, Okida and the others be able to fend the robots of long enough for him to wake up? Find out next time on Sonic X, The Challenge. Don't miss it!


	3. Episode 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 2: The Challenge

* * *

"You think you can work out the controls?" Okida asked, peering down through the entrance hatch to one of the Turtle Mech's. Tails had clambered inside the cockpit and was testing the complex looking set of levels, buttons and switches. So far, all he had been able to do was open up the back armour, nearly putting a laser cannon in Okida's face. Turtle Mech's had green painted armour to reflect their name and tank like treads. The cockpit a small space just behind two sheets of armour so protect the pilot; several cameras hidden at each side gave the pilot the opportunity to survey everything around the Mech in a 180 degree angle.

"I managed to pilot that old Yahger of yours." Tails replied; throwing a few switches and hearing the engine in the back of the machine hum in unison. "How hard can working this thing be?" Before Okida could think of a suitable reply, Tails flipped something he shouldn't have and two sheets of armour pulled themselves aside and a small missile bay slowly rose to fill the void. Okida yelped and hit the deck and two of them launched forward unexpectedly, flying through the air before colliding into the air of one of the Raptor Walkers, knocking it over. The ground shuddered with a loud crash as the Mech collapsed to the floor.

"Perhaps you should endure some training before we put you behind the wheel of anything larger than a bus." The bat stated as Tails hurriedly climbed out of the machine, most of the personnel running around like headless chickens.

The current G.U.N command had put top priority on this Mech project. The Nuclear arsenal currently held by the US Government; _although they would never admit it_, simply could not be used. It would cause far too much damage to the environment, so they were forced to rely on more traditional means of warfare. Over ten billion dollars was already being invested in the Walker program, in fact within a single year most of the defence budget was being directed this way. The admiralty was already looking into the possibly of sea going Mechs.

"Hey Omega; how's it going?" Rouge the bat, current agent of Freelance division asked one of the militaries most advanced fighting machines. Capable of taking on several Mech's at once and with Giant Wing gone, Omega was now considered to be the most advanced piece of fighting technology ever created. The fact it was Eggman who made him was a closely guarded secret intend to boast morale. Despite various upgrades and modifications, Omega's design repaired basically the came. Two large arms housing machine guns, missile and an assortment of other deadly weaponry on each side of the large torso. The legs were short and stumpy, but those didn't need improving. If Omega wanted to move fast, he would simply convert from combat to mobile mode extracting a pair of wheels from inside his body. His large flat head rotated around one hundred and eighty degrees to stare directly at the female bat, who hovered lazily in the air behind him with a broad smile on her face.

"_Upgrades complete_." Omega stated in his usually flat emotionless voice._ "All systems fully operational. Target designate Rouge's current status?" _Rouge hesitated before realizing it was his way of saying_; **I'm fine and how are you?**_

"Can't complain." Omega nodded, before lifting both of his barrel sized armed and rotated his entire torso around to fire at several targets on the other side of the Walker bay. Each straw dummy exploded in a firestorm of bullets and missiles. "Nice…" The female bat commented. "But I doubt Eggman';s clunkers are going to stand still." With a few flaps of her wings, he advanced out onto the firing range.

"Rouge, what are you doing?" Topaz asked her from the sidelines.

"Just providing Omega here with a moving target that's all." She replied, before turning back towards the large combat robot. "Ok then, let's see if you can hit me with all that fancy weaponry." The female bat added with a sly smile on her face. Omega actually seemed to hesitate before several hidden compartments inside his arms opened up and two machine turrets rose upwards. With a few flaps, Rouge was instantly in the air.

"Ok, try it now." Tails shouted as he pushed himself out from underneath the Mech. The Turtle Walker they had been working on that suffered a blow out and Okida was currently up top trying to make the controls work again. The Major preferred to be working down here, instead of being stuck in his office with the very increasing IN pile. Most of which he had absolutely no idea how to do.

Chris Thorndyke was stuck in his own head, trying to solve a problem himself. This problem had been dogging him for the last few days and he was no closer to solving it then when he first started. Chris' hair had grown longer, reaching past his shoulders now. His height had increased as well. He was a clear two foot taller from when Sonic and the others had first met him. Deep in thought, he didn't look where he was going and walked into the side of the Turtle Mech.

"Ow!" Tails shrieked as the loud ringing of vibrating metal amplified dangerously inside the Walker. Rubbing his head, he pulled himself out from under the machine looking ticked off.

"Oh, sorry Tails." Chris apologised quickly as the fox paused to let his headache subside. "Can I ask your advice about something?" He asked, looking back for a moment. Tails nodded in reply before turning back to his work, rummaging through the underside of the Mech. The boy hesitated for a moment, looking indecisive. "Well, I've just been told I could be accepted into a G.U.N cadet program. Half the students in my high school have." Tails hit his head on the bottom of the engine before emerging with a blackened face. He removed his goggles, leaving an almost comical binocular like-clear patch around his eyes.

"I've heard they were going to do that." He stated. "But I didn't think they'd be doing it this quickly." He looked up towards the top of the Turtle Walker. "Hey Okida, you know anything about that?" There was a moment of silence before the bat stuck his head over the top

"About what?" He asked, hanging a large wrench over his shoulder.

"About the G.U.N cadet program."

"Oh that." Okida stretched the top of his head, trying to remember that briefing he had turned up for half asleep one early morning. "I think they introduced it as a career choice after Saddler was apprehended. The establishment thinks this skirmish with Eggman could go on for some time." With that, he returned to his work.

"The problem is…"Chris continued, sitting down on a stool next to Tails. "I don't know whether I should join up or not." Tails paused. That was a difficult, life altering decision to make. With the present situation, G.U.N needed all the man power it could get. But it was Chris' choice ultimately. Tails couldn't tell him to join up because of the need for supposed security. He was not about to draft him.

"What do your parent's say?" The fox asked, leaning back against the side of the Mech. Chris managed a humoured smile.

"My dad wants me to inherit his company and my mom flatly refuses to let me sign up." Tails rolled his eyes.

"Well let me ask this. What did you want to do, before Eggman turned up I mean?" Chris paused briefly at that question.

"Well I…I always wanted to be a scientist like Grandpa." He admitted. Ever since he was a small boy, living alone in the Thorndyke estate, he had watched his grandfather create complex machinery out of nothing but a few scraps of metal and a motherboard. He had always wanted to be a great engineer like Chuck and had showed a great talent for it, but then Eggman arrived and everyone just seemed to get side tracked.

"Chris, at the end of the day; there's only one piece of advice I can give you in good conscience." The human looked up expectantly. "Even if G.U.N is at war, it's your decision whether or not you pick up a rifle and go hunting robots. No one has the right to order you to put yourself in harms way. So all I can tell you to do is to follow your ambitions." He stuck himself back under the Mech, replacing his goggles. "Eggman certainly follows his." There was a sudden loud explosion as a female bat came flying through the air trailing smoke, before spiralling and landing with both feet on the ground next to the Turtle Walker. Rouge's gloves had been burnt and her fur was a mess and a thin trail of smoke was rising from the burnt patches on her arms but she didn't seem all that bothered by it. In fact, she looked rather pleased.

"Ok, Ok Omega, you hit me." She laughed, patting down the burning ends of her fur.

Without any warning what so ever, the large information screen at the far end of the chamber flipped itself on, showing a signal presently being broadcast around the entire world. Everyone just dropped what they were doing when they saw the broad, sadistic smile of Eggman himself staring down at them.

"**Greetings G.U.N." **The Doctor sneered at them. **"For all your boasting, you've still no closer to stopping me; and now I stand on the verge of achieving my goal." **Stepping aside, Eggman revealed a horrifying scene behind him. The city of London stood in near ruins, a flag with the Empire's symbol had been hoisted above the flaming ruins of Buckingham palace, Dreadnaughts standing to attention everywhere in the now occupied city. Many buildings stood burning. The air above it black with the smoke from the flames. The large bulk of the Egg Carrier 3 could be seen floating just above the Thames to the left, the harbour quickly being converted to accommodate the battleship's needs.

The entire world was left staring in horror at the fate of the English, huddled masses forced by the large robots and those who had joined with the Eggman Empire into buildings that hadn't been damaged for processing. **"Consider this a warning to the rest of you."** Eggman declared as he stepped back in front of the camera. **"Surrender now, and your country will more of less be allowed to run itself; with my garrison troops patrolling the streets of course**." A wide grin crossed his face and he wrapped his fingers together**. "Or you could choose defiance and have your cities burnt to a cinder. Everyone loves decisions don't they?" **With that, the image buzzed and disappeared to be replaced by the emergency broadcast image.

A long silence endured for several minutes, everyone left staring into space ominously, before Okida opened his mouth.

"Crap." He cursed, running his fingers through his head fur, barring his fangs.

"So now what?" Tails asked. That was the question on everyone's lips. Eggman had showed a terrifying military superiority, taking down a country under G.U.N's direct control in less than a single day. Once this got out, the entire world's population would be terrified. There'd be mass panic in the streets.

Tails eyes widened when something he'd forgotten came flying back to his immediate attention.

"Chuck!"

* * *

The radical transformation of the city of Bristol shocked Bark. Less than half an hour ago it had been a pleasant place to look at and now they were forced to hide in dirty alleyways avoiding searchlights cast down by the large walkers that patrolled the streets.

More of the civilians had been rounded up by now and put into what the three of them could only describe as concentration camps inside some of the buildings. Already some of them were being taken out, marched in a line to start work on construction of something that they couldn't quite make out from their hiding place. One thing was very clear through.

Within a single hour, Eggman had reduced the British people to slaves.

"We have a problem." Bean remarked. Hare levelled his eyes.

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." He replied sarcastically. "So what now? You're the fancy G.U.N agents, come up with something."

"Well we could turn you over to Eggman for safe passage over to France." Bean began with a brief smile, looking up as if deep in thought. Hare turned and grabbed the green duck by the bandana around his neck, pulling him roughly forwards.

"I don't take jokes at my expense very well." He stated angrily. "Do I make myself clear?" Hare held up a large fist ominously. Bean swallowed hard.

"Perfectly." He said his bandana chocking him. The hare let him go.

"Are you two finished?" Bark asked impatiently, tapping his foot. "Look, what we need to do is get back to that manor, retrieve Prof. Thorndyke and his friend and then escape somehow." The polar bear stated, staring out from the corner to see if that Dreadnaught had gone yet. It was still there at the top of the street and to Bark's dismay is had been joined by more of those small humanoid robots they had seen fighting the Flying Dogs. Hare rolled his eyes

"Well duh. Give **_Captain Obvious_** here a gold star." Bark looked back him sourly. The rabbit like mobian stuck his head out to get a better look as well. Those smaller robots were at least seven foot tall and clad with black armour very much like a knights. Their hands were large and claw like, cloven with only two fingers and a large thumb. In their left hands the two of them had a blast laser rifle, a gauge on the side glowing bright red. A similar glow emitted from their one side eye in the middle of their heads. They did not friendly. "If we can get over there, we can travel through the city without being spotted." Hare pointed to a manhole with the lid blown off, flying on the other side of the road. It was clear if they tried to run for it, those robots would spot them in an instant.

"Now what we need here is a distraction." Bean commented, reaching into his fur and withdrawing another of his explosives, a wide sadistic grin on his face. Hare and Bark cast each other a worried glance. "Don't worry; I'm a professional explosives expert." The duck stated before launching himself up the side of a fire-escape above them.

"A professional pillok more like." Hare commented dryly.

Bean climbed up to the roof, keeping out of sight behind a roof of chimneys, gradually working his way across the rooftops to some point he seemed worthy. Looking out from his hiding place, he could see the stationary Dreadnaught standing on the road below level with him. This was the perfect place.

Carefully he set the small amount of plastic explosive into a crack in the side of a wall and then inserted the timer, setting it to detonate in two minutes. Leaving his trap ready, he darted back across the roofs nearly revealing himself and then almost slid down the fire escape back to the ground.

"You may want to put your fingers in your ears." He told him, inserting his own digits and bracing himself. Bark and Hare quickly did the same and after a brief moment of silence, there was a loud bang that shook the ground. Rubble from the roof tumbling down to the ground in a rain of brick dust and fragments.

The Dreadnaught, nearly being crushed by the falling masonry turned to investigate, casting its searchlight upwards. The two smaller robots almost turned to look, and that was their opportunity. Despite his large size, Bark grabbed the two of them and darted forward before the robots had a chance to look back. While the Dreadnaught concentrated its efforts of the rooftops, they searched the open manhole and descended into the sewers.

The stagnant water squelched under their feet and Bean found his stomach doing several turns at the smell.

"That's disgusting." He stated before holding his breath.

"It's a sewer." Bark replied. "What did you expect? All the sewers smell the same, no matter what country you're in."

* * *

"_Dr. Eggman, I have a report from the Egg Moon." _Becoe began approaching the hencebot's own creator, who sat in the metallic throne of the Egg Carrier 3 monitoring the progressing upgrading the cities of England to suit his technological needs was going. The reports came flashing up on a holographic display; all stating that work was proceeding on schedule. Within a few more hours, London itself would be ready to start mass production of Bandik's and Dreadnaughts._ "Orbit surveillance shows a good number of G.U.N fleet battleships approaching the English coast from the south west. A large air borne attack force is also assembling in France." _Eggman only looked up briefly from his work before a wide spread over his face.

"Ah good." He rubbed his hands together and stood up. "Then they've fallen directly into my trap."

"_Trap sir?" Becoe began looking puzzled. "What trap?" Eggman didn't answer; instead will a grin he crossed over to one of the many computer panels lining the outside Egg Carrier's bridge._

"Commander, we have incoming. Ready the four points artillery." He stated clearly after pressing a single button acting a com singal.

"_Yes sir." Came the reply after a short buzzing of static._

"_Four points Artillery?" _Decoe repeated, looking confused. Neither he nor Becoe had ever even heard of such a thing. Sailing towards England from the west at that moment was a culminated fleet of battleships and carrier transport boats all carrying at least three of G.U.N's latest Mech's, all armed to the teeth and ready to fight.

After assembling off the coast of Spain, one of the largest naval fleets the world had ever seen was slowly making it's way towards the British Isle. All flying G.U.N colours were hundreds of Battleships, transports and carriers. In response to the invasion of the United Kingdom, the nations of the world had been culminating their forces into this one super sized army. Its military purpose was to crush the Imperial forces and liberated England, but it had a more political reason for existence. People were beginning to panic as more reports on the fate of England came in and it was hoped that this attack would raise public morale.

Which couldn't get much lower.

Stood on the decks, their large cannons pointed inland were dozens of Mech Walkers. Leading the assault was Major Koji Naoko Okida. After being selected for his years of experience fighting the Eggman Empire on Mobius, Okida sat in the pilot seat of his Yahger Mech watching the English coastline draw nearer.

Rising up from the depths of the Thames River came a gigantic metal tower, casting a shadow over the city itself, its spire in the clouds above. It was a perfectly round cylinder apart from a multitude of wires and giant cables that lead from the base. Atop this colossal construction was a single square platform, one each corner of which stood the barrels of a culmination of artillery guns, all poised upwards and ready to fire. This tower stood as the tallest thing above London, the barrel of each gun the size of five story building.

Okida blinked and peered up at the sky, noting something of detail. There was a sudden light on the horizon that he hadn't noticed before. It was too early for the stars to come out, and the moon wasn't due to rise for another two hours. As he watched, this one blinking light separated instantly into thousands of smaller ones. Although their size didn't last long as with each passing moment they grew bigger.

"Oh crap…." He muttered to himself, before slamming his hand down on the intercom. "INCOMING!" The Major screamed and everyone looked up just in time to a gigantic artillery shell go whistling through the air to collide with an escort battleship to the left. The vessel bent under the impact and was forced into the water within minutes, leaving its crew little time to abandon ship. Everywhere shells began raining down all around them, sending ships left and right down into the oceans. The turrets on the front of the battleships were doing little to reply the deadly fire, given the colossal size of each shell.

Even the Mech's marched out on deck in an attempt to save as many ships as possible, but even their firepower proofed futile. The deadly barrage just kept coming.

"Turn us around!" Okida ordered the Captain. "If we go in any further, we'll be blown out of the water!" Ships began turning in the water, desperately trying to evade the deadly metallic rain as the waves produced by the sinking metal smashed against their hulls.

Dr. Eggman watched the results of his new defensive weapon from the comfort of his own quarters in the Egg Carrier 3. The widest smile imaginable had spread over his face. His shelling was driving the invaders to the west at bay and holding off the air force to the south. His power base was secure and construction of England's badnik and Dreadnaught factories should be complete within the hour. He rubbed his hands together and put his feet up on the table in front of him with a bowl of popcorn beside him.

"_Doctor." _Becoe began, his image appearing in a small caption at the top left hand corner of the screen._ "The badnik attack force is ready."_

"Excellent." Eggman replied with relish. "You can stop the shelling now. Order the attack. I want every single one of those ships on the bottom of the ocean."

All grew quiet as the loud crashes ceased and the deadly giant metal bullets began to grow less and less. Okida grabbed hold of his Mech's combat controls, its guns and weaponry still held at the ready. It wasn't likely Eggman would stop at defence so the other pilots also brought their Mech's out ready for any further attacks.

"This was a trap!" Okida snarled as his radar picked up a multitude of signals coming straight at them. "They wanted us to attack!" Out of the fog they came, hundreds of them it seemed. No larger than the average Laser Hunter robot but far more agile, flying through the air using the jets on their backs. Bulky robots with curved talons and laser rifles, engulfing the entire fleet like a swarm of locusts.

They attacked without mercy, firing a barrage of laser fire directly into one of the Raptor Mech's knocking it off the side of the ship and into the ocean.

Okida swung his Yahger's missile bays around and fired several projectiles straight at two of the small robots that came across his left. Showing tremendous speed they dodged them and then came straight across the Mech's side, tearing across its leg with their talons.

The Walker buckled, slamming down to the beck on its front, trapping Okida in the cockpit. Forcing it Yahger up, the major fired a barrage of heavy machine gun fire as the two as they curved through the air for anther pass. It managed to catch one of them knocking it down towards the sea, but the other flew straight at his cockpit, sinking a talon straight through the glass, nearly impaling the bat ion the metallic blades.

Snarling, Okida tore his pistol out from its sheath and fired over five rounds straight at the robot's head, leaving a good number of jagged holes in it's Cyclops like eyes piece. But still it kept coming, its cloven hand snapping at him. It came very close to slicing his face, but luckily its oversized arm had gotten trapped between the metallic frame around the cockpit.

These newest creations of Eggman where like nothing the major had ever seen, they greatly exceeded anything being developed by G.U.N technicians. Just how did that Doctor keep outpacing them in technology like this? It wasn't humanly possible!

Delivering a sharp kick, Okida forced the robot of his window screen and reassumed control of the mech. Looking around from his birds eyes view, the major could see these robots tearing into the fleeing boats. At this rate, they'd capsize the ships within a few minutes and everyone would drown. His sensors dipped and he looked down. His instruments were telling him that there were not too far from the French coast. In fact, he had visual, a thick grey line on the horizon to his left. That idiot captain had steered them the wrong way, they'd been going south not back west.

Slamming his fist down on the intercom button, the Major opened a channel to the bridge.

"Beach the ships!" He ordered. "We'll fight them on the land!"

* * *

Flip card 1:

Name ;Dr. Eggman

Age; (In his late forties)

Sex: Male

Species: Human…_well, sort of._


	4. Episode 2, part 2

(I do not Own Sonic X etc)

* * *

Flip card 2:

Name; Bean

Age; 17

Sex; Male

Species; Duck

* * *

"This is not going to end well." Hare said for the tenth time as their eyed their target, one of those new robots Eggman had used to take control of the city. Overhearing conversations made between the willing supporters of the Empire that had taken up control of Bristol, these humanoid robots were called Badniks.

Their target was standing guard outside a roadblock that had been placed directly across one of the main roads. A large collection of stand bags and bared wire clocked the road and it had been announced that anyone attempting to so much as go near them would be shot. The badnik seemed to be alone, although from somewhere nearby they could hear the ominous loud foot steps of one of the larger Dreadnaughts.

Bark was still resolute in his intention to bring that robot back to G.U.N for study. They were more advanced than anything in the militaries arsenal and send at least one away for the technicians to get their hands on would help them even the odds.

"We still have our duty to G.U.N." Bark had remarked sadly when he began to explain his plan. "Those smaller robotic soldiers up there surpass anything currently being developed by the Mech program." He folded his arms. "If we ever expect to even the playing field, we have to capture one of those robots intact and bring it back for study." There was a sudden silence.

"Are you insane?" Hare asked flatly. "We saw those things cut through Flying Dog with ease. They'll rip us into pieces smaller than confetti."

"For once, I agree with bunny boy." Bean remarked. Someone however, Bark had managed to get both of them to agree to his scheme. Exactly who he had managed it, neither of them could seem to remember. One minute they had been dead set against his plan and the next he said something and they were drawing battle plans.

"We'll have to sneak up on it." Bark muttered watching it scan the empty street in front of it for any sign of movement.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Bean asked flatly, looking out from their hiding place momentarily. They had chosen to set themselves up behind a dumpster that, during the confusion of the take over, had been knocked over, garbage spilling out onto the street.

"From now on total and utter quiet." Bark replied sharply.

"I don't think it can hear me from over there."

"But I can." The polar bear rubbed his chin, several different ways to pull this little stunt off running through his mind. Subduing it with force was right out. Just one of these things was a match for all three of them.

A loud buzzing caught his attention and he looked up. Overhanging the street were a few telephone wires. A telephone pole had been dented a few feet away and the wires were low enough to reach now. One of them was sparking with loose electricity. A wide grin crossed Bark's face.

"I have an idea." He stated. "But it'll have to be spilt second timing to pull it off."

"We don't get a say in this do we?" Hare asked, his ears flat against his head.

"Nope."

The badnik's head swerved to the side as Hare darted out into the middle of the road, made an indecent insult with his middle finger before vanishing again into an alley on the right hand side of the street. The robot's visor blared bright red before it left its post to chase after him.

As soon as it reached a certain position, Bean advanced from the other side of the street and tossed one of the old style bombs straight at it. The Badnik barley even had time to look down before it exploded, sending it crashing down to the ground.

Now on its front it was vulnerable. Before it could rise, Bark came cascading down from a fire escape with the wire he had seen a minute ago in his glove. Using his weight to pin the robot, he jammed it directly into the one chink he could see in its armour, a small hole on the back of its neck.

The effect was amazing. The robot shuddered violently like it was having a seizure, its visor blowing out in a spray of glass. Bark rolled off it as it rose, watching in amazement as it staggered around, crashed into the side of a vacant car before stumbling backwards and crashing down to the ground again, smoke rising from it's smashed visor.

"Is it…." Bean began, picking up a stone and tossing it at the robot. It just rebounded of its smoking metallic shell. It seemed inoperable now at least.

Hare edged close and gave it a nudge and as it did so the sheets of metal that formed it's chest plate began pulling themselves backwards, revealing a hollow chamber inside its torso.

"Good god." Bark breathed, seeing a mobian encased in wires inside the belly of the machine, seemingly unconscious. It was a mobian bird, its green feathers battered and torched. The dark remains of tears lanced down its checks.

Reaching down, Bark lifted its limp body out of the metal prison, tearing off the wires and electrodes attached to the arms and legs.

"People inside robots?" Bean began confused. "What for?"

"A power source by the look of it." Hare replied, examining the now vacant remains of the Badnik; noting the sufficient lack of anything that looked remotely like a power cell. There was a sudden succession of loud thudding sounds and the halo of a search light began tracing its way up the street towards them, the faint outline of a Dreadnaught visible

"Hold him for me." Bark said, hanging the bird over the Bean. The polar bear then went over the smoking remains of the badnik and took of its arms, dragging it as quick as he could into an alleyway, followed quickly by the others. The Dreadnaught came marching up the street, striding forcefully over the roadblock; apparently indifferent to the lack of a guard there.

Bean looked out to see it go, until Bark forced him back in again as he saw a pair of military style trucks come up the road after it; the Eggman Empire symbol painted on their sides and a lorry load of nasty looking soldiers armed with the most up to date weaponry available for the common foot solider in the back.

"Let's go…" Hare muttered from between clenched teeth as more of the Empire's supporters clambered out and they were apparently concerned by the lack of a guard at the roadblock. The empty badnik shell was not as heavy as Bark imagined and he was able to place it over his shoulders as the three of them vanished quickly into the back alleys.

* * *

It was hounding him, dogging his shadows no matter where he ran. In this arena, Sonic's agility was useless. No matter what speed he accelerated so, the darkness matched it mile for mile. It was a relentless chaser and nothing the blue hedgehog could do impeded its progress. The hideous laughter loomed after him, mocking his efforts at escape. From deep in the darkness, green fire burned with furious hatred and a pair of glowing red eyes never seizing in their malicious glare.

"**Run little Hedgehog, run."** It laughed after him and suddenly the darkness was everywhere, clouding the sky and ground, creeping in on him. Not just physically either, Sonic could feel an unwavering tsunami of despair and pain preparing to wash over him. His mind was going numb and he felt the inevitability of it all seize him in an iron clad grip.

Looking up, he saw a tall figure silhouetted against the sky. Those glowing red eyes set directly in its head, the green fire burning along its shoulders. Slowly, a large cloven hand with talons reached down towards the blue hedgehog preparing to snatch him up and in that moment the despair and utter fear seemed to intensify ten fold and Sonic collapsed to his knees. Struggling for breath under its influence, thoughts began running unbidden through his mind. Intense memories of the most traumatic events of his life.

He was there again, amidst the wreckage of a ship, struggling for air as the water seemed to pull at him from below. Thunder bellow above and the waves whipping him without mercy; once again Sonic was five years old, alone in the darkness. Reminded bitterly of why he hated water.

There was a sudden unbidden screech and Sonic looked up again. Lancing through the tall figure above him was a single beam of white light. A beam that radiated from the sky, sank through the demonic figure's chest before gently falling onto the blue hedgehog himself, dissipating all the negative emotions forced onto him leaving his mind free of an outside influence.

"Come, before it regains its strength." A familiar voice told him from the light and Sonic heaved himself to his feet, seeing that despite the blow that darkness beginning to stir again. Looking up at the light, the blue hedgehog saw a hand extended to him in offering. Without hesitation he seized it and was lifted from the pit of despair and up into the sky.

"**You can't escape me forever!"** The scream echoed around as the darkness was deprived of its victim and a geyser of green flames shot forth in a desperate bid to snatch the blue hedgehog back down. It never reached him and Sonic was lifted to safety.

The environment drastically changed around him. Everything faded to be replaced by a complete white void. The blue hedgehog opened his eyes, finding a familiar face in front of him. A female Echidna with orange fur and sea blue eyes. A tiara made of solid gold and painstaking engraved crossed between her front dreadlocks across her forehead. She was dressed in simple clothing made from dried grass and silk. Wrapped around her dreadlocks were white bandages. Sonic blinked, recognising her at once.

"Tikal?" He asked in surprise. The female Echidna nodded with a smile. The last time Sonic remembered seeing her had been when he, Shadow and a few others journeyed into the past. There they witnessed the death of the Echidna civilisation and the rise of Perfect Chaos. It had been extreme difficult for Knuckles to watch or accept. Before that they had all seen her take Chaos 0 away with her to some place unknown, ending Perfect Chaos' seize on Station Square.

"Another few moments in the presence of Krish and he would have destroyed your mind completely." She stated. The ancient Echidna's, most of them at least, had worshipped a god of war. His name is Krish Kra Pal.

Sonic and Shadow had had the misfortune to encounter him in person when he possessed the black hedgehog's body and tried to use to destroy everything in sight. He was pure evil; even Eggman paled in comparison to him.

"Krish is really like that?" Sonic asked, remembering the horrible bleakness of the figure that had loomed over him. Tikal nodded.

"What you saw was his true form. How his body looked before he was first defeated by the God of the Shield and the God of the Sword and sent into exile in Nexus." Sonic looked confused for a moment, this being the first time anyone had ever told him anything about a Shield and Sword god. "It's a long story." Tikal began. "And we don't have time for it now. Your world is in dire peril right now and you have to wake up."

"Wake up? I'm not even asleep." He asked in surprise. Tikal giggled briefly.

"Oh but you are. You've been lying in a coma for over six months now." Sonic looked completely stunned. He liked to sleep in as much as the next hedgehog but six months seemed a little extreme. Did that mean Krish had been torturing him for half a year?

"So…" he began slowly. "I'm dreaming all this?" Tikal hesitated briefly.

"In a manner." She replied. "As Nazo, you and Shadow let your actions be controlled by your rage and you fired an unstable Chaos control warp directly at the Biolizard. It destroyed your foe, but greatly injured your body and mind in the process." Sonic put a hand to his head, struggling to remember all that. There was a brief flash of memory as he saw the cybernetic revived Biolizard come lunged forward.

"Oh." He remarked, finally recalling it all. His eyes widened. "And Shadow?"

"Being far more chaotic in nature than you, he was absorbed by the Chaos control warp and cast out of your world into a separate realm of reality." Another voice stated and the two of them looked up to see a young human girl come gently floating down from the sky. She looked strangely familiar but Sonic could not put his finger on it. She had golden blond hair and blue eyes, a royal blue holding her hair in a middle parting. The faint illusion of light across her body portrayed the image of a pair of large dove like wings sprouting out of her back.

"I've seen you before somewhere haven't I?" The blue hedgehog asked, giving her a sceptical glare as he scratched at his memory. The girl did not reply.

"I will search for Shadow." Tikal stated. "It is probably best he not see you again Maria, at least not yet." Sonic's eyes widened as that well known name rang in his ears.

"MARIA!" He gagged. "You're…THE…Maria?" Shadow had never talked about the way she looked, but from what he could gather from various sources; this girl fitted the description perfectly. "But…you're dead…"

"Am I?" She asked sarcastically. "Oh so I am." Tikal giggled finding some pleasure in the startled look on Sonic's face.

"Why don't you take Sonic's back?" She asked. "I have a pretty good Idea where to start looking for your old friend. As soon as I find him, I'll let you know." She put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Don't worry about your friend. We'll find him. Just concentrate on defeating the present enemy at hand."

"And that would be…" Sonic began, only to realize the obvious as he slapped his forehead. "Eggman." The blue hedgehog could only image what glee the fat scientist would find in the knowledge that his greatest enemy had overslept by half a year. In those six months, anything could have happened. Tikal and Maria both nodded and Sonic sighed. "Alright fine. I'm probably going to think this is all a dream when I wake up, in fact I think this is all a dream right now but if you find Shadow for me then I'll take care of Eggman."

"Very well." Maria began, stretching out a hand towards him. "Time to wake up then." Tikal only had enough time to wave goodbye before Sonic took Maria's hand and there was a sudden bright flash of green and the hedgehog was hurled down through darkness and past it, emerging into a world of colour once more.

* * *

Laser fire flew through the air as Bean, Bark and Hare made a bee line straight for the harbour, a swarm of badniks on their tail. They'd made good time across the city, but it seemed inevitable that they'd be discovered. And eventually a Dreadnaught had caught them in its search light and at once they had half the Badnik patrols in the area following them.

Bark still had the empty badnik over his shoulders. As far as he was concerned, getting this piece of advanced technology back for study was crucial. To their dismay, during the attack on the city all the boats had been sunken. The shattered remains of boats lay floating across the bay, leaving no means of escape.

"You guys got me into this! I'll sue you for every penny!" Hare told them sharply as they dodged behind the side of a building, narrowly missing a barrage of laser fire.

"Oh shut up!" Bean shouted at him, dragging them across the street as the spot light from a dreadnaught came lancing up towards them.

"Over there!" Bark shouted, gesturing off towards the bay as a bright light began to blare on the horizon, becoming brighter and brighter. G.U.N's latest experimental military vehicle came flying up the river towards the harbour. It was codenamed, ICARUS. A plane designed by Prof. Charles Thorndyke to deploy troops in record speed, capable to taking off and landing like a chopper and carrying several turrets on the rear to cover it's fast retreat. The plane heading towards them was a prototype and Sam Speed was finding it hard to pilot it. It was going extremely fast, even for him and at these speeds it was extremely difficult; never mind trying to break.

Eventually he managed to push the Icarus into a halt directly across the length of the dock and Tails let the ramp at the back decend.

"Let's go let's go let's go!" Tails shouted at Bark and the others as the laser fire began to fill the air. Seeing their one change at escape, Bean and Hare made a dash for it as Bark hurried behind them, keeping the empty Badnik on his shoulders. Once they had all crossed the ramp, it came up sharply, defending all those inside from attack as the Dreadnaughts marched out of streets, missiles joining the Badnik's artillery as the prototype ship made a swift retreat out of the harbour, screeching across the water as the Badnik's flew after it. Inside the plane, Bean and Bark found Chuck and Artimus waiting for them. The Icarus had already swung by the country estate and picked them up.

"Now would be a good time to warp!" Chuck stated, watching out the back as the humanoid robots go closer and closer. Sam said nothing, keeping his eyes locked on the Nitro gauge as it edged closer and closer towards one hundred percent. The two turrets on the back of the ship rotated around and provided some cover fire, helping to keep the badnik swarm off them as the ship shot down the river and towards the open ocean.

"I really hope this crate you designed works." Artimus commented, watching the badniks raise their laser rifles ready to fire.

"Not as much as I do." Chuck added.

There was a sudden loud beep and finally the recharge was complete. A wide smile spread over Sam's face and he grabbed the controls, pulling them backwards to engage the Nitro drive, the lights on the control panel blaring bright green.

"Super Nitro ON!" Slamming the controls forward, the experimental rocket fuel flying through the fuel lines into the engine, a huge blast of exhaust flying out the rockets at the back. There was an enormous sonic boom and the ship went flying forward as an unthinkable speed, the shockwaves sending the pursuing Badniks spiralling straight back to the dock, crashing into the Dreadnaughts knocking them over.

In an instant, the plane was gone, flying down the river to the open waters beyond the reach of the Eggman Empire.

* * *

(In Chris voice)

Will Eggman conquer the world, or can Sonic and Amy put a stop to his new Badniks? Find out next time on Sonic X, **_Awakening_**. Don't miss it!

* * *

Last two chapters redone to remove repeating paragraths... 


	5. Episode 3

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C; GO!

S.O.N.I.C: GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 3: Awakening

* * *

All Sonic could feel for a long time it seemed was the wet, clammy coldness of the substance around him. It wasn't air; that was obvious from the start. As strength returned bit by bit to his tired arms and legs, the blue hedgehog pushed one eye open slowly. His sight was blurred and all he could make out were shaped and a few base colours. There no outlines, only blurs. One thing he could make out however was the familiar pink blob just to the left. He managed a smile, feeling the edges of an oxygen mask around his mouth.

His stomach growled angrily at him, reminding the blue hedgehog that he had not eaten for half a year. It wasn't just a low rumble either; it was loud enough for his ears to actually hear it. Unbidden, thoughts of dozens of cheeseburgers began to drift through his mind.

His strength began to return in greater bursts, but he chose not to make it known that he was awake just yet. He watched through half closed eyes as his sight began to clarify and he could make out that two people sitting on the bench just next to the stasis tank he had been asleep in for the past half year. Sitting closest to him was the black and gold robot Emerl, with Cream asleep on his lap. Sitting next to him, looking up at the ceiling was Amy. By the look of it, she hadn't moved for some time.

By now Sonic could feel the burning energies inside him, one his own life-force and the other the ever presence tingle of Chaos energy that had remained with him ever since he had first laid eyes on a Chaos Emerald.

He made a few movements to test his own limbs. They really needed a good stretch, but apart from a few cramps they seemed well enough. He paused, a sudden near impish idea coming to mind. He was Sonic… He couldn't just wake up. He had to have some sort of memorably comeback.

Amy looked up in surprise as with a sudden flash of green light, Sonic's body disappeared from inside the tank. She sprang to her feet, staring at the empty space, the electrodes and oxygen mask hanging in the liquid alone. Emerl looked up, moved Cream down to sleep on his seat and then stood. Sonic had completely disappeared without a trace. One minute he had been there, the next he was gone.

There was a loud rustling sound from the door behind them and both the robot and the pink hedgehog turned. Standing there in the doorway, drying himself off with a towel taking from the janitors closet down the hallway was Sonic.

"Come on guys. I like to sleep in, but six months?" He asked, shaking his quills to dislodge some liquid. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Amy just stood perfectly still, her mouth hung open. The faint touch of tears stung her eyes, before she leapt forward and slapped him hard on the face. Sonic staggered backwards, looking stunned. "What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his cheek with an irritated look on his face.

"You utter bastard!" She snapped at him, her eyes aflame with more emotion than Sonic had anticipated. "Six months you've been floating there and then you just come back like nothing at all happened." The blue hedgehog looked stunned. "I thought you were never going to wake up. I thought you were just going to float there forever. Do you understand!" She bit her bottom lip, clenching two fists by her side.

"I…" Sonic began, unsure of how to begin for a moment. "I'm sorry." He ended up saying but instead of lack of vocabulary, he found that he really meant it. He realized exactly what she must have gone through while he was out of it. Amy loved him, which was no secret. She had had to wait half a year for him to wake up, not knowing if he was ever going to. Amy was silent, still shaking a little from her outburst before her expression softened.

"Don't be." She replied, before hugging him tightly, her hot tears dripping onto his shoulder. "You're just being you. I won't have you behaving any other way." Without even thinking about it, he hugged her back.

"You won't have anything to eat would you?" He asked with a grin. "Only it feels like I haven't eaten for half a year." Before Amy could answer, Cream woke up.

"SONIC!" Came a high pitched voice as a orange blur flew across the room and knocked him over with a bear hug. After they pried Cream off him, Sonic was reintroduced to the buffet table. Which proved to be a mistake as within moment half of it has been stuffed down the blue hedgehog's throat.

Amy had seen Sonic eat before, but never quite like this. Within minutes the food laid out for the technician team had all but gone, a few rare scraps left at the far end.

Emerl eventually lost interested in watching Sonic stuff his face and turned to Cream, who by now was watching one of the overhead television screens in the mess hall. A news report was one, showing the attack doing disastrous wrong across the English Channel.

"Uh oh." Sonic muttered to himself, seeing the reports flash up on screen, battleships being forced under the water by thousands of giant metal shells. "I'll have to take this to go." He added, grabbing what he could from the buffet table and stuffing a loud more into his mouth. Gulping it down as fast he could he then downed an entire litre glass of lemonade.

"Don't even think about leaving without me." Amy stated, clamping a hand on his shoulder before he could race off. Sonic was about to say something, but he then noticed that with her free hand she was holding another variety of hammer. The one with only one blunt end and a curved blade on the other, the lights reflected ominously in its surface. There was to be no arguing with her.

Sonic nodded, swallowed an entire piece of toast before racing off with Amy in tow.

* * *

Another directly hit by a missile and Okida's Mech Walker collapsed, it's legs temporarily paralysed. The Major tried to force the machine up but the controls refused to budge.

These badniks, are their com-signals identified them were twice as strong as their machines and could take twice the punishment. Eggman's forces had forced them into a fighting retreat across the French countryside. Their ships wrecked on the coast, their only means of salvation now being reinforcements from the local garrison. But now Okida was beginning to think that even that wouldn't been enough.

These robots were everywhere, tearing their forces to shreds with their large talons. The bat backed up into the cockpit when a large black figure came hovering into view, the only thing separating him from it being an inch of glass.

The pane shattered as a set of claws thrust themselves forward, grabbing Okida by his shirt, pulling him roughly forward, pushing his face in line with the metallic barrel of a laser rifle. Okida forced his eyes shut, barring his teeth as he wanted for the literal ear splitting bang.

Then it came, and the claws relinquished their grip as a blast of swirling blue energy tore the robot from the ground as cast it high into the air.

"I knew it, I KNEW IT!" Eggman muttered angrily to himself, slamming his fists down on the desk as the blue blur on screen flew across the battlefield, sending several badnik's flying into the air in the process.

With Amy on his back, Sonic darted just close enough to each of the black androids for hammer to deliver a solid blow to each of them in turn, knocking them into the ground. Pushing off Sonic with her hammer firmly in hand, Amy confronted several of the humanoid robots, each lifting their large laser rifles towards her. They never even got the chance to fire; their weapons became crushed by a deafening whack from the blunt end of her blunt weapon.

Hammering down one badnik, Amy twisted her body around to smash another directly in the face with the sharp end of her hammer, impaling it's head on the spike.

Grabbing one of the robots across the shoulders, Sonic somersaulted in mid air, casting it over his body and straight into another pair that were trying to come at him from behind.

Another flew came, talons out stretched but never reached it's target as Sonic completely disappeared in a flash of green light. The badnik stopped, looking confused as its head swerved this way and that desperately trying to re-establish a lock on its target. Remerging out of Chaos Control behind it, Sonic floored the robot with a sharp kick.

Turning, he saw a good dozen of them come charring at him in a flying V-formation, their laser rifles held at the ready. A wide grin crossed his face and he held both hands out in front of himself, channelling his energy through his arms.

"SONIC WIND!" His version of Shadow's Chaos spear attack rocketed forward as a twisting spiral of blue light that engulfed the badniks, crashing them against each other violently before finally flinging them across the battlefield to crash directly into the side of a downed Turtle Mech.

Okida's Yahger finally made its way back to it's feet and from this vantage point, The major could see all that was going on. A smile crossed his face. About time too, Sonic had been cutting into their medical budget quiet a bit with his long nap. His radar blipped angrily and Okida looked to his left to see a cluster of Eggman Empire Drop ships heading in their direction from the horizon. No doubt to deliver reinforcements to the troops Sonic and Amy were beating the living daylights out off.

"Not on my watch guys." He muttered to himself, before turning his Walker around and opening every missile bay inside his Mech's armoury. Seeing his example, others began to do the same thing and when the Major gave the order they fired whatever ammunition they had left directly at the incoming ships, striking the leader across the side, sending it crashing down engulfed in smoke.

Sonic barely looked up when he heard the explosions going off in the background, he was to busy dodging lunges from the robotic soldiers in front of him. Those talons were capable of carving a hole through rock. He hated to think what they might do to soft flesh. Sliding to the side, he threw his weight forward and began spinning on the spot before propelling himself forward in a super spin, slamming hard into the side of the badnik, throwing it violently down to the muddy ground.

Sonic didn't stop then, he kept rocketing forward slamming into bandik after badnik, knocking them sideways. Something however seemed wrong as Sonic came to a stop, leaving a muddy trail across the ground. He'd hit these new toys with some of his most powerful attacks and they simply refused to break down. Whatever metal Eggman was making these new things out of was certainly impressive.

He grimaced as the robots he'd just knocked down got right back up again, their on eyes visors blaring bright red.

"Just what is this?" Amy asked blankly, staggering backwards as the badniks she had smashed down seemingly rose from the dead, even the one she had stabbed through the head.

Sonic charged forward again, slamming a punch followed by a swift punch against one of their number. The robot simply staggered backwards a few paces before regaining its footing. Shocked, Sonic let his guard down long enough for another one to grab his foot and toss him down into the ground, it's claws held uncomfortably close to his neck. Vanishing a flash of green light, Sonic re-emerged some distance away before spinning his entire body around and firing a Sonic Wind straight at them.

Again all his attack did was knock them down. They just kept getting back up to come at them again.

Amy wasn't having much luck either. Her hammer would only keep them at bay, even the sharp end could not slice its way into the armour plating of his this new metal.

No robot was unbeatable. Sonic had proven that time and time again, and this would be no different. Spinning around on the spot, he began gathering speed as the badniks came souring at him. He ignored them and just kept spinning, winding his body's tension up as far as he could.

Then he realised that tension in one huge burst, rocketing forward with a sonic boom; slamming into the nearest robotic solider, tearing through its upper body; ripping off it's left arm and bust. The blue hedgehog didn't spot, he just kept going slamming into another and another cracking them open like egg shells.

"Hah, there's no clunker that I can't smash." He stated, putting his hands on his hips as he looked back with a wide, almost sadistic grin. That grin faded however when he saw what came spilling out of the shattered remains of the Badniks. Every single robot had had a mobian inside them, clawing at the ground and air, desperately trying to pull themselves out of the metal which had held them prisoner for so longer, desperate tears of frustration on their faces.

Okida had been watching all this as well from his Mech. Had Eggman been putting people inside these things? Why? "Hey are you ok?" Sonic asked, helping a mole out from underneath the metal. She appeared week and almost certainly traumatized, tears in her eyes and a wide terrified look on her face. "Amy, go easy on these things, there are people trapped inside!" He yelled out to the pink hedgehog; who was busy fending off several more that came across her left.

"Easy for you to say!" She yelled back, sliding to the side before handing a hammer stroke directly up across the head.

"HEDGEHOG!" A voice yelled and Sonic looked back just in time to see a set of large steel claws come flying at him. Side stepping, he narrowly avoided a slash from Metal Knuckles, who swung his large arm back across Sonic's side, catching him on the leg.

The blue hedgehog yelped and collapsed to the ground, the fur on his leg stained red. His eyes blaring bright green, Metal Knuckles grabbed him around the neck with it's free hand and lifted Sonic into the air, tightening its grip around his throat. The hedgehog struggled, desperately trying to pull himself free, but the robotic Echidna's iron clad grip was like a vice.

Just as Sonic left the last breaths escape his body. Amy swung her hammer around and smashed the blunt end directly into the back of the robot. Metal Knuckles crashed to the ground face first, letting so of the blue hedgehog's throat. Sputtering, Sonic collapsed to his knees, desperately out of breath. Metal Knuckles back flipped and before Amy had a chance to react, the robotic echidna smashed a kick directly into her chest.

Swinging back, Metal Knuckles tried to impale its claws directly through Sonic's head. The blue hedgehog lashed out at the last minute, tacking out of each side of the large metallic bracer with his hands, before pushing it away and smashing a punch forward.

Amy pushed herself out of the mud, anger with herself for letting that kick through and even more angry for Metal Knuckles to ruining one of her best outfits. She shook the mud out of her quills and reached for her hammer. Just as she was about to launch into another attack, from somewhere someone fired a laser beam directly at her. The blast narrowly missed her, striking the mud on her left. Swinging around, she saw another of Dr. Eggman's robots come flying at her.

It was Eggrobo; one of the Doctor's elite. A robot with an artificial intelligence far superior to anything G.U.N had in production. While it didn't have the physical traits the other Elite had, this android could outthink nearly any opponent. Amy grinned and held her hammer up.

Sonic, despite the nagging pain in his leg, managed to deflect a swing from Metal Knuckles before slipped to the side; sliding in the mud. Before the Robotic echidna could react, Sonic held both hands out in front of himself and fired a Sonic Wind straight into Metal Knuckles' chest. The blast of swirling blue energy sent the robot flying into the air, disappearing into the clouds above.

Sonic didn't have time to relax through as a scorching pillars of fire came sweeping down across the muddy field, burning the edges of his quills. E1004: Theta landed on the ground with a loud thud after being hot dropped in by one of Dr. Eggman's fraters. He'd been updated since the last time Sonic tangled with him. He had more than one flame thrower on each arm now and had a greater amount of armour overlaying his limbs. The small red eyes blared at the blue hedgehog from behind a black visor.

"You should have stayed away blue boy!" Theta remarked coldly, holding both of his flame throwers up. _"Time for a hot spell!" _Ropes of flames began lancing through the air and it took every ounce of Sonic's famous agility to dodge around it, before sliding through the mud underneath them to get in close. This was Theta's one weakness. His weaponry was nearly useless in close range combat. Drawing a fist back, Sonic prepared a punch.

!" Theta remarked coldly, holding both of his flame throwers up. Ropes of flames began lancing through the air and it took every ounce of Sonic's famous agility to dodge around it, before sliding through the mud underneath them to get in close. This was Theta's one weakness. His weaponry was nearly useless in close range combat. Drawing a fist back, Sonic prepared a punch. 

But the attack never it home as at the last minute, a pair of large metallic arms grabbed him from behind, pinning his own arms to his side. Metal Knuckles tugged him back, holding him in place as Theta backed off to a good distance.

"Burn him NOW!" The robotic Echidna called over as the blue hedgehog struggled to free him self. Without hesitation, Thetha fired both barrels straight at the two of them, sending a sheer wall of flames flying forward. Sonic felt the faint brush of the heat touch his face, before both her and Metal Knuckles vanished in a green flash just before the fires arched forward, scorching everything in their path.

Repapering out of Chaos Control some distance away, Sonic had just enough to head-but a stunned Metal Knuckles in the chin, before spinning out of his grip.

EggRobo seemed to be blocking every attack Amy made with her hammer, reflecting it with just one of his arms. This robot was predicting all her attacks before she made them and reacted with equal force, the two attacks cancelling each other out. With it's free hand clasped around a laser rifle, the robot used momentary breaks in the action to fire a few pot shots at her. Amy was by no means as fast as Sonic but she had some of that natural hedgehog agility that let her dodge around the blasts.

"Hold still you little…" Theta screeched, fire blazing forward as Sonic darted forward, before somersaulting over the flamethrowers blast, his entire body spinning around. Taking the full extent of a spin attack head on, Theta was thrown violently to the side, landing with a deafening thud against the mud.

Metal Knuckles came flying at the blue hedgehog from behind, but Sonic ducked at the last minute, before swinging a leg around; smashing a kick at super fast speed directly into the robotic Echidna's face. With both opponents floored, Sonic paused to catch his breath.

He didn't get much of a chance as nearly instantly the two robots were back on their feet, like they hadn't even been trying before. Their eyes glowing bright red, just like those badniks.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" He asked, before they lunged at him with steal claws and burning fire. "Guess not…"

Eggrobo finally made a mistake and that was the only incentive Amy needed, bringing her hammer right around and slicing one of it's arms off with the sharp end of her hammer, taking a large chuck of the torso away with it. Stumbling backwards, the robot nearly fell over; its weight greatly unbalanced.

"FOUR!" Swinging her hammer around, Amy struck the damaged robotic solider directly across the chest plate. Sending it flying into the air like a golf ball, disappearing off the horizon with a faint flash of sun light across its metal body. Sonic slid back across the mud with his arms spread wide, energy gathering between his fingers, the flames from Theta's flamethrowers burning all around him.

There was a bright flash of blue light and the charging E1000 robot was sent flying backwards straight into the ground. Sonic turned to face Metal Knuckles who as coming at him from behind, but not fast enough to avoid a hard bash from a kick. Stumbling, Sonic left himself open to a head butt, followed by another hard kick. His eyes glowing bright red, Metal Knuckles brought his larger arm around preparing to slash him in half with his large claws.

Sonic managed to gather enough wits to disappear in a green flash from Chaos Control; reappearing behind the robotic echidna with a fist drawn back. His punch didn't hit anything as Metal Knuckles' torso whipped around and the robotic echidna caught the fist in mid air before landing a kick straight against Sonic's stomach, flooring him.

As Sonic lay in the mud clutching his stomach, Metal Knuckles raised his claws, their sharp blade like edges blaring against the faint sunlight.

Just before the robot could swing down and finish the blue hedgehog, it violently shook as Amy's hammer slammed directly it's head, the sharp blade like end stabbed directly through it's robotic brain.

Metal Knuckles staggered backwards, its movements no longer under its control as it stumbled across the battlefield; before collapsing into the mud; it's red eyes dying down to nothing.

"Amy, you rock." Sonic admitted as the pink hedgehog helped to him back to his feet. His quills were nearly completely covered in mud and he then made the mistake of shaking it off like a dog, covering Amy's pants in dirt. "Mud, the only thing worse than water." He said to himself, picking a wad of it out of his ear with a finger.

"I know." Amy replied flatly, scrapping it off her legs.

"Yo Eggman!" Sonic cheered up at the flying robotic surveillance device floating above them, a single optical device staring down at them. "Your robots are smashed, trashed and even broken. What are you going to do now?" He asked, assuming a game show host like voice. The floating device buzzed wildly, before a holographic projection was cast down towards the ground, forming a translucent face. A sneering pair of eyes glared at Sonic from behind a pair of glasses with a large orange moustache bristling beneath the oversized nose.

"You're a tad confident for a late arrival!" The Doctor commented dryly. Sonic shrugged.

"I overslept." He replied, folding his arms. Eggman sneered at him.

"Joke all you want blue boy. Within a single year, the entire world shall share the same fate as the United Kingdom."

"Not while I'm around it won't." The two of them, foes since they first met stared each other down, conflict sparking in the air between them. Eggman ended the stalemate as his image disappeared and the small robotic device made a hasty retreat, vanishing into the air.

There was a loud buzzing sound and the remains of Metal Knuckles and Egg Robo disappeared in a bright flash, transported by to Eggman territory for drastically needed repairs.

* * *

Flip Card 1:

Name; Sonic

Age; 18

Sex; Male

Species; Hedgehog


	6. Episode 3, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X etc.)

* * *

Flip Card 1: 

Name: Badnik Robotic attack drones

Age: Designed and then used in the Eggman Empire a few months ago

Brief Description: Built using an unknown source of technology, badniks use living people as a power source, keeping them trapped inside. They are stronger, faster and even more durable than any robotics technology currently in existence.

* * *

With a loud thump Bark finally dropped the heavy burden he'd been pulling around London onto a forklift truck and it was carted off with a large crowd of Techicians following closely behind. Arriving at a G.U.N base in France, technicians had insisted at once at examining this intact piece of advanced technology. So far, all they'd managed to salvage from the battlefields had been a few shattered pieces. This was the first whole badnik they'd been able to get their hands on. 

Tails took one look at the inside and out of this new robotic solider and he growled to himself, shaking his head.

"Not good." He began, crossing his arms in front of himself as they hauled it roughly up onto a large metallic platform; a large entangled collection of monitoring devices hanging above it.

"Something wrong?" Okida asked, giving the robot a look over himself. Tails nodded.

"Oh yes. I've been working on Eggman's robots for years now. I know their designs inside and out. Whatever this thing is, it's far too advanced; even for him." Okida paused, before looking back, not comprehending exactly what Tails meant by that. "He couldn't possibly have created all that by himself." The fox continued. "This technology is like nothing I've ever seen before." Before he could add anything more, a large mechanical device descended from the ceiling and begin probing the robotic shell, testing the metals strength.

"As far as I know." Okida began. "Eggman is the only source of advanced technology on Earth." Tails crossed his arms.

"Then he must have gotten it from somewhere else." He muttered to himself, a few theories that verged on the edge of Sci-Fi suddenly appearing unbidden in his mind.

"Look, I just don't see why I have to hang around." Hare began angrily as he, Bean and Bark walked into the technician area. The mobian rabbit looked even more annoyed than usual, having just been told that he was required to stay on the base perimeters. "I've got friends in Paris I can hold up with, so why aren't I allowed to go?"

"You can thank Bean and Bark here." Okida replied, turning towards him. Hare narrowed an eye questioningly. "Well, according to their reports you held up well under pressure and immediate danger in London. As well as being extremely helpful in acquiring enemy technology." Okida put in, handing the rabbit a piece of paper with a large offical stamp on it. "And under the present Emergency Powers Act I'm authorized to recruit any and all personnel I see fit."

"You've just been drafted." Bean said with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. Even Bark was finding it hard to suppress a large grin, Hare's left ears twitched and anger began seeping into his face, his eyes diluting in utter rage.

"YOU BASTARDS!" He screamed, drawing a fists back.

Sonic would never admit it, least of all to himself; but he found himself regretting how much grief he had caused so many people. His half a year nap had tested Amy's character to extremes. Shadow had disappeared, lost to some place unknown and to top it all of, one of his new friends lay in thirty or more shattered pieces, hardly even alive.

Metal Sonic had been one of their most hated enemies, then a valued alley and at the end a good friend. Sacrificing himself to save both Shadow and Sonic from a destructive blast from the Biolizard. Standing over the table upon which the robotichedgehog's remains had been placed, Sonic could see someone had been trying to repair him; but by the look of it was not doing very well.

"Hey…" A voice began. Sonic barley looked up as he saw Chris approach. "Glad to see you up." He said, hiding behind a small smile the utter glee and joy he was experiencing to see his friend finally awake.

"Not as much as I am." The blue hedgehog stated with a sigh. "What I saw in my nightmares…" He shuddered involuntarily, remembering the utter despair that had taken hold of him as that horrifying darkness swirling around. He owed Tikal one for that. If she even had been there. Perhaps it **_had_** all been a dream like he'd anticipated.

"Grandpa's been wracking his brains out trying to get him up and running." Chris stated. "I don't think he's getting anywhere though."

"Nope." Sonic muttered, looking as the scrupled mess of burnt wires and metallic shells that lay on the table. All that remained of the intact body was an arm and the head, the quills lancing out the end burnt clean off. "I really oweMetal oneChris." He stated with a stern amount of determination in his voice.

"We all do." Chris answered with a short grin.

* * *

The Elite had been, before Eggman arrived, bankers who controlled a lot of the world's wealth. Using their influence, they'd been slowly corrupting half the governments on Earth paving the way for their take over. When the Eggman Empire arrived and the world was being overrun with the Doctor's robots, they saw opportunity knocking and began hording vast amounts of technology stolen from the downed Egg Fleet to create their own Mech Walkers, ready to help the Eggman Empire overrun the world. 

When their leader, General Saddler had been exposed they changed strategies and began openly supporting the invasion force.

"This is a crisis." Their new current head began as they sat around a long table, Eggman himself setting at the far end with his arms crossed. "With Sonic back in the way, we're put right back to square one."

"Your robots failed to defeat him." One of them stated sharply turning to Eggman, who watched him back with a malicious glare. "Sonic is one of the greatest threats to our advancement and he must be destroyed."

"So far in fact Sonic seems to have made a mockery of your so called advanced technology." Another added. Again Eggman said nothing, only replying with a steely glance.

"You should have taken him down before this campaign began." This however, broke Eggman's tolerance levels.

"That wasn't my job gentleman!" He snapped angrily, nearly foaming at the mouth with the eyes behind his glasses sparking with anger. "If I remember correctly, it was your responsibility to destroy Sonic with your revived Biolizard. A responsibility you failed to live up to." The room fell silent. Everyone looked like they had an objection poised on their lips but were afraid to speak. "I will deal with Sonic myself when the time comes; he is not your concern!" Eggman shoved his chair aside and stood up, slapping his hands down on the table. "Now I'm going to make this very clear from the start; personally I consider you all aristocratic scum with a Napoleonic complex. I don't care how long you've been plotting to take over the world. This is my conquest and if you even want a shred of power, you'll do actually as I say." A short moment of tense silence followed. All of them silent, with their mouths hung open in astonishment; all expect one, who in blind rage stood up with anger burned into his face.

"How dare you talk to us like this! We were here long before you were! We had the world ready to sign itself over to us when you showed up, we only joined with you because it's profitable. Don't think that we can't…" He never even finished a sentence. Eggman simply clicked his fingers and the badniks standing around the outside of the room raised their laser rifles and fired a volley straight at him. It body shook at the impact, before he toppled backwards over his chair and landed with a loud thud on the floor, blood staining his shirt.

"Anyone else want to be an idiot?" The scientist asked; eyeing the occupants of the room his itchy trigger finished tapping the table expectantly. No one darted to move, every one of them scared witless. "Good. Nice to see I have some people with a brain cell under my command. I will not tolerate insubordination. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal…" One of them muttered quickly.

"This is my empire, not yours. You would so best to remember that." Even as he spoke, badniks were already marching the captured citizen out to begin work on the thousands of new depo's and factories Eggman had ordered the construction of. With the help of the Nanotechnology they should be complete very soon. With the nation's defence up and under his command, the doctor had secured his power base.

The fact that the hedgehog had chosen to push his nose into his business again was off little consequence now. Nothing could stop the events the Doctor had set in motion. This world would come under the Eggman Empire's control…given enough time.

"Decoe, Becoe; a word in private if you please." The two hence-bots cast each other a glance before followed their fat master into a side room shutting the door behind them. "Sonic's re-appearance does mean trouble, and my empire isn't ready for a head on collision with him yet." He admitted reluctantly, sitting down in a chair facing a window overlooking his new territory. "I have the Egg Moon, but it's too close to the Earth to be an effective major base of operations. What I need is a place I can built without constant interference from G.U.N or blue boy." He looked back over his shoulder. "Any suggestions?"

_"__Well sir."_ Decoe began cautiously._ "You could try using another orbiting station to launch attacks from."_ Eggman paused, then turned back to face the window.

"Managing an invasion from the moon is difficult enough. The last thing I need to be burdened with is the construction of a Second ARK." He stopped, his eyes widening in a sudden realization. "Hang about!" He shot to his feet. "Of course the ARK! It's perfect!"

_"Another brilliant plan as usual sir."_ Becoe put in._ "How do you come up with them?"_

"It's a gift." Eggman was an intelligent man, he was however easily flattered.

_"Might I suggest sir..."_ Decoe began, butting in._ "That once ARK is occupied again, you consider expanding your territory to another planetoid. Say, Mars for Example?"_ Eggman put a fore finger and thumb to his chin, thinking the suggestion over. It did have merit. Travelling through space was, **fortunately**, not one of the hedgehog's many talents. There and on ARK, he could construct all the factories and Badniks he would ever need while those G.U.N amateurs concentrated on his base in England. However, he disliked the idea of running just because the hedgehog reared his head again. And he disliked the idea of leaving those Elite in charge of anything for an extended period of time._ "Just call it a tactical retreat sir."_ Decoe added as if reading his mind.

"Yes I like that." He stated, rubbing his hands together with a sinister smile under his moustache. "Who says I have the limit the growth of the Eggman Empire to this planet anyway?" He sat back down in the chair, chuckling lightly to himself. "Have you got the report from the excavation sight yet?"_"_

_Yes sir." _Becoe quickly began, pulling up the digitally delivered report on in internal database._ "They say they've managed to withdraw most of the technology out of the ground and it's ready for transfer back to the Egg Moon. Although they do recommend that they stay longer to see if they missed anything important."_

"Times not a luxury I have at the moment." Eggman declared. "Have them meet up with the Egg Carrier 3 in a few hours time. I'll be taking our precious cargo home personally."

* * *

Maginary world, a plane of reality formed by the consciousness of beings throughout the universe, was at war with itself. Void himself had returned and once rallying enough supporters began waging a bloody campaign against the Angel that currently held power; Queen Illumina herself. 

Tikal carried very little for the conflicts in one realm. It was the fate of all she had to concern herself with; even through with that realization came an inherent sadness she hadn't counted on. Maginary world was not stable. It alternated, changing from one form into another in varying places. The culmination of sentiency throughout the universe, as diverse as it was, conflicted with each other so much it made the very nature of his dimension unstable.

Still, it had enough of the laws of physics to allow visitation. Tikal gazed out across the flat nothingness that spanned out before her. Following the trail of near depleted Chaos energy, she had tracked Shadow to this dimension. The black and red Hedgehog was in here somewhere. The only question was, where? It could take eons to find him if she tried it on foot. She would just have to try and sense him out. But even that would take far too long, and she did not want to be in this realm for longer than was absolutely necessary. Getting caught in a cross fire between opposing armies did not appeal to her for some obscure reason. From here, she could see the glows radiated from armies clashing across the length of the dimension. Tikal decided that this was close enough.

She needed a little help if she was going to find Shadow on any sort of time scale. Sliding out from her shadow, forming a puddle on the floor came the liquid creature known only as Chaos. Sliding upwards into its most primitive form, forming arms and legs, two dreadlocks lancing out the back of its fish like head. The liquid inside its head shimmer brightly and its brain appeared, nerves trailing down inside its dreadlocks.

Tikal looked back briefly, meeting its own gaze from its emerald green eyes. Without a single word they parted, the female Echidna heading in one direction and Chaos in the other, their own chaotic nature radiating outwards, searching for traces of the Ultimate life-form.

Finally after probing at the fabric of existence in this world; they discovered Shadow's trail; but found it had been purposely disturbed by something. Whatever that something was, it had the power to bend Chaos Energy and far more efficiently than they could. Shadow was in this dimension all right, but as for where precisely; remained to be seen.

There were only two beings in this dimension with the power to bend dimensional fabric. And only one of them had the motive. Tikal narrowed her eyes in frustration.

"Void…"

* * *

(In Chris' voice) 

Sonic's going to need all the help he can get against Eggman as the fight heads into space; but things are turned upside down when Void arrived with another scheme to get back at Queen Illumina. And if that wasn't bad enough, Chuck's about to be hurled headlong into a murder mystery. Find out what happens next time as the Sonic Shuffle Saga begins, next time on Sonic X: Void's game. Don't miss it!


	7. Episode 4

(I do not own Sonic X etc. Note: This may be an adaptation of Sonic Shuffle; but the plot will differ a lot from the actual game.)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!

****

Sonic Shuffle Saga

Episode 4: Void's game

* * *

Last time on Sonic X:

Tikal looked back briefly, meeting its own gaze from its emerald green eyes. Without a single word they parted, the female Echidna heading in one direction and Chaos in the other, their own chaotic nature radiating outwards, searching for traces of the Ultimate life-form.

Finally after probing at the fabric of existence in this world; they discovered Shadow's trail; but found it had been purposely disturbed by something. Whatever that something was, it had the power to bend Chaos Energy and far more efficiently than they could. Shadow was in this dimension all right, but as for where precisely; remained to be seen.

There were only two beings in this dimension with the power to bend dimensional fabric. And only one of them had the motive. Tikal narrowed her eyes in frustration.

"Void…"

* * *

Breaking the circle of the atmosphere and heading upwards into the depths of Space, The Egg Carrier 3 soured higher and higher on it's direct course for the orbiting Space Station; Space Colony ARK. The giant battleship, Eggman's personal vessel once it had cleared the atmospheric friction let it's wings spread out converting from battle mode to jet mode; which would far easier to traverse space in.

"We'll be arriving at ARK within the hour sir." Metal Knuckles began as Eggman walked along one of the metallic catwalks that stretched over the Egg Carrier's main hold. The giant chamber was nearly filled to the brim with large metal crates, all of which had been labelled with the Eggman Empire symbol. Inside they contained something Eggman himself considered extremely valuable. Once he had a chance to study it all, he was sure it would ensure him total victory over Earth. After Amy had driven the sharp end of her hammer through his head, Metal Knuckles had spent several hours down in engineering, _"Our scouts report the station completely deserted as predicted. Badnik troops have moved in to take possession_." The scientist rubbed his hands together.

Metal Knuckles began as Eggman walked along one of the metallic catwalks that stretched over the Egg Carrier's main hold. The giant chamber was nearly filled to the brim with large metal crates, all of which had been labelled with the Eggman Empire symbol. Inside they contained something Eggman himself considered extremely valuable. Once he had a chance to study it all, he was sure it would ensure him total victory over Earth. After Amy had driven the sharp end of her hammer through his head, Metal Knuckles had spent several hours down in engineering, ." The scientist rubbed his hands together. 

"Excellent, keep me informed of our progress." Metal Knuckles saluted with his large arm and retreated away to give Eggman his personal space. "Decoe." The scientist called down to one of his Hence-bots who was down on the floor of the hold with a clip board in his hand, busy categorizing the hundreds of creates individually; which was taking an extremely long time. "Is everything ready for assimilation upon arrival?" He asked once the robots glanced upwards.

"Almost sir. Another half an hour and I'll have it all organized." Was the distant reply.

"Hurry up. I need this all completed before we arrive." Eggman shouted back.

Travelling from one dimension to another was not altogether difficult; it did however require quite a sufficient degree of power. The energy released from Radiant Emerald's implosion was enough to shatter Void's prison and send him flying across the dimensional barrier.

Returning to this world, Void began setting up his final strike against Queen Illumina. His own rallied forces were beating her armies back and within days he wound have Maginaryworld right in the palm of his hand.

However, Illumina could remain safe inside her temple forever if she chose. If Void planned to end her plans for the universe he would have to lure her out into the open. And there was only way to do that. Bait.

A buzzing field protecting his body from the vacuum of space, Void watched the construction of his new weapon get underway. Built right into the side of an Asteroid, one of the pieces of moon debris from the Eclipse Cannon blast, it was shaped like a gigantic needle pointing away from the planet below and up towards the stars. Standing on the side of his creation, he could see his workers were already nearing the completion. Soon he would be ready to finish this war once and for all.

Illumina was not sentimental, so holding someone hostage would not work. What he needed to do was force her to travel here and the only way to do that was to threaten her plans directly.

A small twinge of guilt passed over him. Despite his steadfast determination he still felt regret at the events transpiring around his life. If things could be different, he would ensure they would be; but since he was now stuck in this situation he would have to make the best of it. If all went as planned then he and Lumina…maybe some day soon. He shook his head.

He letting himself getting distracted. He had to focus, concentrate. His plans were nearing their most crucial stage and his margin for error was very slight. It would not take her long to find out what he was up to in this dimension and he had to be ready for her.

Something caught his direct attention and he looked up, the planet now in his line of sight. Leaving the atmosphere was a giant battleship, two sets of wings spread out from it's main bulk as it left the planets orbit and made it's way slowly towards the stars. Welded directly onto it's side was the smiling face like symbol of the Eggman Empire.

"Ah…" Void began, folding his arms. "I have competition."

* * *

"Amy, I'm still trying to figure out why this is necessary." Sonic asked as Amy tied a blindfold around his eyes. Standing alone in the middle of a large field some distance from any G.U.N base so they wouldn't be interrupted, the pink hedgehog had brought him here to do some desperately needed training. It was very early in the morning and a faint mist clung to the ground. A large group of black clouds in the distance were the ominous promise of rain later in the day.

"You've been getting soft for sixth months." Was her reply once she'd finished. "I saw your sloppy performance against those robots so you are in need of some serious training." Sonic disliked the near sadistic twist her voice took at the end of that sentence. "Now, I'm going to try and hit you with my hammer." She added and Sonic took a few steps back involuntarily. "All you have to do is avoid it."

"Just how am I supposed to see it coming with this thing on?" Sonic asked bluntly, nearly stumbling over his own feet.

"You're not." Amy replied, before giggling. "And don't even think of removing it!"

"You know, you've changed over the last few years." Sonic stated lifting one side of the blindfold just enough to see her testing the weight of her blunt weapon. "What happened to the bubbly Amy who spent her time chasing me?" Amy paused, rolling her eyes in thought.

"Oh I'm still her." Was the pink hedgehog's eventual reply. " I haven't really changed that much, this is me as I really am. It's just you've been standing still long enough to notice." Sonic hesitated, considering the poetic irony of her words. When he'd first met Amy, he could instantly see that she had fallen in love with him. But he was never stayed around long enough to actually see what she was like. He'd just raced off to another bout with Eggman or some other bad guy and Amy was left in his dust. Lately however she'd been with him on more and more adventures and slowly but surely he'd gained insight into her character. In fact, he liked Amy. In more ways then he was prepared to admit. Before she could catch him staring at her now near –_Rouge-_ like body, he put his blindfold back on.

"Alright then." He stated. "Ready when you are."

"You might as well close your eyes and rely on you others senses." She told him, before approaching as quietly as she could, her hammer as the ready. Sighing, her followed her advice and closed his eyes. For a moment his own thoughts blared loudly in his ears, before he managed to catch the sound of the wind high above and he focused on that, trying to concentrate. His head hurt concentrating so much. He hadn't had much need to do it too often.

Once he'd managed to silence all the nagging thoughts massing through his mind; he found to his surprise that he could near a lot more than he usually could. Even the whistle of the wind through the trees on the other side of the field. He managed to get it right just in time, as a sharp intake of air alerted him to Amy's presence to his ring and swiftly he spun around and somersaulted backwards; narrowly avoiding the hammer as it slammed hard into the ground, sinking into the soft mound.

Amy looked up with an impressed smile on her lips. "Living up to your reputation I see." Sonic just shrugged and backed off to a safer distance.

"Ok, try again." Amy looked down to see a small stone half embedded in the ground next to her. Quickly she picked it up and began to approach again, seeing Sonic's ears twitch nervously trying to pick up any sound apart from the wind. Once she was within a few feet, he tossed the stone in the ground on his left and his attention was diverted that way. This left him wide open to an attack, an attack from the blunt of her hammer, striking him hard on the back; knocking him to the ground. "Ow!" He exclaimed, pushing himself up, rubbing his back. Amy took once look at his face and quills, covered completely in mud and she found herself laughing at him. "Ah man, I'd just got these perfect too." He exclaimed, after removing his blindfold. He wiped what he could off with his hands, but was still left with a large amount pulling down his quills. "Amy, you cheated!"

"You think Eggman cares about playing by the rules?" Sonic hesitated. "No? Good, so keep in mind I'm trying to think like one of his robots; trying to destroy you by any means necessary."

"How thoughtful." He replied bluntly, before placing the blindfold back on. The followed hour was spent improving Sonic's reflexes and overall speed. Over this time Amy managed to land several good hits, leaving Sonic with more bruises than he counted on.

By the time Sonic had managed to reflect one of Amy's attacks before grabbing her hammer and tossing it across the field, the sun was high in the sky signalling noon.

"I think you've done enough for today." She said with a smile, walking over to retrieve her weapon

"For today?" Sonic repeated, looking distraught as he removed his blindfold. With a loud rumbling sound, a dark shadow began falling over the field. Looking up, Amy saw the X-Tornado cut past the sun, hover for a moment in the air before descending to a slow landing nearby.

"Hey guys." Tails called over, leaning out of the cockpit. "I finally got the X-Tornado back up and running." As if in joyous agreement, a thick pillar of steam lanced out of the exhaust from the engine. Tails had also given the plane a new paint job. Instead of white and black he's painted it blue like his old Cyclone, along with two golden lightning bolts down the side.

"Nice." Sonic stated, shaking what was left of the mud out of his quills. "You musta' spent hours polishin' this." He added, tapping the side of the machine, leaving a large muddy hand print on it. Tails' best plane had suffered near horrendous damage when it went head to head with the Egg Fleet and then again when the Egg Carrier 3 came after it. Tails had had to put the plane through near constant updates to keep up with Eggman's own creations and now it seemed like he'd managed to put the X Tornado ahead.

The second pod pushed itself open and Cream's eager face appeared, with her gold and black robot Emerl sitting in the back.

"CHAO!" Turel exclaimed as Cheese came flying out of the X tornado's cockpit. Cream watched the two Chao fly high above the busy collection of people on the outside of the base, crisscrossing their paths in some form of dance unfamiliar to her. Amy's Chao had far larger wings than Cream and to impress its friend was doing loop the loops. Tricks that Cheese were poorly imitating.

"Hey Sonic!" The she-rabbit declared, sliding down over the side of the plane with Emerl following closely behind. "How's the training going?" Sonic winced, suddenly feeling the large bruise on his shoulder.

"Does your mother know you're out here?" Amy asked suspiciously. Cream suddenly tried to look as innocent as possible, but the puppy dog eyes expression did not seem to impress anyone.

"So anything on the Eggman front?" Sonic asked Tails as Amy began to tell Cream exactly how un-kind it was was to wander away from Vanilla without telling her where she'd be.

"Kinda quiet actually." The fox replied from the cockpit. "Not a single robot has left England since you trashed his -bots in France. Those G.U.N guys have been trying to get in, but it seems Eggman can fire those shells in any direction at any time." His eyes widened in realisation. "Hey! You can outrun those things can't you Sonic?"

"Sure can." The blue hedgehog stated with no false modesty. "I can out run anything Eggman can come up with. Only one thing though…"

"Oh?"

"England is an Island and I **don't** do water!" His tone was so sharp Tails let it go at that.

"Oh, before I left Okida said he wanted to see you." Tails added before sitting back at the controls. Sonic blinked once in surprise. He though he'd made it clear to Major Okida the first time while he and his friends and G.U.N were on the same side; they were not on their pay roll. That didn't upset Okida himself too much, but his political superiors shuddered at the thought of something that didn't do what they told it to.

"What's he want?" He asked, hoping up to one of the wings to look over Tails' shoulder.

"Not sure, wouldn't say." Was the reply as the fox checked over the controls in the cockpit. "All he was he wanted to see you, me and Amy in the next few hours."

"Where is he?"

"At the new G.U.N headquarters in Europe." There was a brief flash of green light and Sonic was gone.

* * *

"Ok, what's the big emergency?" The blue hedgehog arrived at the base almost momentarily. It appeared Okida had been expecting this kind of theatrical entrance. This was Sonic after all. He was standing outside near his Yahger Mech which were undergoing a new paint job, changing it from a desert gold to a blood red, the G.U.N symbol standing out on each leg. Sonics voice was betraying his own sense of boredom. A hint Okida picked up, narrowing an eye at him.

"Don't you ever make a normal entrance?"

"Don't believe in 'em. What's the big deal?"

"Eggman, what else?" He asked rhetorically. "A few hours ago, one of our last remaining surveillance satieties picked up a large object leaving the atmosphere." He pulled out several pictures taken from the satellite. They showed a very large object heading away from the planet. "We've been able to determine it as the Egg Carrier." Sonic just laughed.

"See, I've got him on the run already. Running back to his base at the mere sight of me." Okida shook his head.

"He isn't heading for the Egg Moon."

"He's not?"

"No, we've calculated his course and concluded that his ultimate destination is…" he pulled out another picture, an orbiting space station around the Earth. A space station Sonic was all too familiar with.

"ARK?" Sonic stated. "What's he going there for?" His eyes widened in a sudden shock. "The Eclipse Cannon?" Okida shook his head.

"Not likely. After that whole falling colony thing G.U.N had the weapon dismantled. There's nothing there for him to fire anymore." Within the next couple of minutes Tails arrived back with the X tornado a few minutes later with Amy and the others. Upon their arrival Okida showed them into the base interior, down through several security lifts to an underground silo.

"Basically all we want you to do is to go up into space after him, find out what he's doing there and stop him." The major stated.

"Look, we are not on the Government pay roll."

"Good, because I wasn't planning on paying you." Sliding a key card through a slot, Okida stepped aside as the final door slid aside and a large chamber was revealed beyond.

"Woah…" Tails began as they started up at the large bulk of an experimental space ship, a large G.U.N symbol painted on the side. Triangular in shape, the ship was balanced on a metallic runway angled up towards the ceiling. This thing dwarfed the Mech carrier planes outside, far exceeding their size. Although most of it was steal grey, along it's underside and directly at the front were large white armour plating. Two large rocket boasters were attached to a pair of wings, final checks being made over by a good number of technicians. A good dealer of familiar faces were there as well, including Rouge; perched on the end of a metal rafter. Chris and Chuck were down below in one of the pits below the craft, helping to finish all the final checks. Most of the Freelance Division was there as well, including the recently drafted Hare. The English rabbit who had not counted on becoming a part of G.U.N now went around with a scowl set nearly permanently it seemed into his face.

"Ah good to see you." Chuck called up as a small lift elevated up to their level from one of the tech pits below, his grandson beside him. "So Tails, what do think of the enhancement we've made to the Icarus?"

"This is the Icarus?" Tails asked. Only a few days ago, the Icarus, Chuck's pride and joy had been a ship designed to deploy troops to trouble spots very fast. It seemed in the last few hours, Chuck had made some extreme design alterations.

"The Icarus is now a space ship prototype." Okida began. "I wasn't around for it, but the techs first began work on a space capable crate when the Egg-Moon was first built."

"And since then, they've only built one?" Sonic asked curiously, giving the supposed space ship a sceptical glance over. Some of the techs were finishes adding the final touches, including an impressive over a few places on the armour plating; which Sonic seemed to like the best. It was visually impressive, but Sonic was a ground creature. He did best when he had his feet on solid ground. "Taking a massive short cut by building it on a plane that already existed."

"You want to try building space rocket that can match the Eggman Empire's on any short of time scale?"

"So what'ya say Sonic. Wanna do this little errand for us?" Rouge asked, gliding down to the banister at the side of the catwalk that lead towards the ship. Sonic sighed out load, folding his arms.

"Oh alright." He said, trying to sound reluctant but his voice managed to slip away some of his eagerness. The prospect of any sort of new adventure exhilarated him. "Only for this I think we're going to need a little more muscle power." He put a fore finger and thumb to his chin. "And I know just the Echidna." Everyone looked his way with a surprised look on their faces.

"Shame I won't be able to go." Chris began, looking incredibly disappointed. He had tried to gain permission to go on board with them; but his mother had flatly refused to give him any lee way when it came to that.

"Don't worry Chris, you won't be missing out on any adventure." Chuck stated confidentially with a wide grin.

"How can you say that?"

"Because you and I are going to Italy on a little adventure of our own." Chirs narrowed an eye sceptically.

"Ok then, Freelance Division; listen up." Okida continued. "While Sonic and the others go up after Eggman himself; our mission will be a two pronged assaulted against his forces in England." He lead them all apart from Rouge out of the hanger and into the outside corridor. "Intelligence reports that that artillery cannon that fired on us at our first try is located here in the middle of the Thames River. Our primary concern is disconnecting that weapon so our liberation force can attack." After flying over England a few times, their scouts had reported a far lot more than just that. Most of the entire country had been converted into a giant factory. From their birds eyes view, they reported imperial Dreadnaughts forcing the captured citizenry to cut down the forests at an alarming rate, using the wood to fuel their production lines. Most of England was quickly being blanketed with a thick black smog. "Secondly. The Major added. "We'll also be going in to acquire information about the badnik technology. According to both Tails and our techs; these robots are far too advanced to be Eggman's original design. We'll be going in there to find out just where the hell he got them."

"At the same time?" Hare asked sceptically folding his arms. "Look, I agreed to help you; not undertake suicide missions."

"Oh what's the matter, little rabbit turned chicken?" Bean laughed over his shoulder, until a large fist swung back, knocking him to the ground. Bark groaned, shaking his head.

"And how do you propose to get Knuckles to come with us? Last time I checked, he was planning to stay put on Angel Island for some time." Amy asked as they stood marvelling the ship. Sonic paused, an impish smile spreading over his face before he cast a glare back at Rouge.

"What?" She asked when she suddenly noticed them all staring at her.

* * *

Flip card 1:

Name: Icarus

Age: Designed a few months ago

Description: One of Chuck's masterpieces. Originally a plane designed to deliver troops at lightning fast speed, it has now been updated for space travel.


	8. Episode 4, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X etc)

* * *

Flip card 2: 

Name: Knuckles

Age: 17

Sex: Male

Species: Echidna

Description: Knuckles is the Guardian of the Master Emerald and the last of the Echidna race.

* * *

Days and weeks floated by unknown on Angel Island. With hardly any grasp of time, all Knuckles had to record the passing of days was the gentle cycle of the sun above. Weeks, months and years blurred into one continued existence. Leaving the Shrine of the Master Emerald only when it was absolutely necessary, Knuckles' life was pretty much the same from day to day. 

Still he left no boredom, no need for anything new. His guardianship was all he had known ever since he was little older than four, so why should he crave other things? Angel Island was his home and his life. It was an illusion that had sustained him for years and although he was well aware that someday he would have to grow out of it, he could relax in it for just a bit longer at least.

Then, as he'd half expected, something came along to shatter that blissful illusion.

That something being a shapely female bat called Rouge. Lying on his back away from the Master Emerald, the Echidna blinked against the sunlight above when he saw a faint black dot hovering across the sky. Concentrating his eye sight on it he could see, as it got closer, that it had leathery wings.

Sighing, he pushed himself up into a sitting position as she effortlessly gild down to the bottom of the shrine. Knuckles had lost count of how many times he'd told her to leave the island and he knew from long experience that she wasn't going to listen. So instead of getting into an argument he couldn't possibly win, he groaned and collapsed to his back again; staring up at the sky.

"Hey handsome." She smiled at him, pushing her face directly over his. Having little social skills, Knuckles just levelled his eyes.

"Can I help you?" He asked bluntly. Rouge's smile widened, amused by his emotionless façade before she slid down to sit beside him. Knuckles cast her a sour look when he noticed her eyeing up the Master Emerald, evaluating exactly how much effort she would have to exert to get it back down to the surface. She looked back at him with a grin to let him know she was only joking.

"I'm here to collect you." She stated. Knuckles sat up with a half bemused look on his face. "Wasn't my idea." She began quickly. "Sonic thinks he'll be needing you."

"Sonic knows better than anyone my only concern is towards the Master Emerald. I don't do adventures." Was his very flat, emotionless reply before he lay back down again with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back.

"Don't tell me that thick head of yours is filled with nothing by that?" She asked, shaking her head in the direction of the giant Emerald; whose glow pulsated disapprovingly in response. "There's really nothing else in there?" He tapped his head, nearing hearing a hallow echo before Knuckles opened his eyes to give her a very angry glare. She would never, could never tell him but even in a glare those purple eyes were just like any priceless jewel.

"Look Rouge…" He began sadly, closing his eyes again. "This is the only piece of the world I'm familiar with. The rest of it doesn't move right, too chaotic and random. I'd probably just get in the way."

Before she could start to reply, the glow from the Master Emerald intensified as it reached out trying to grab it's guardians attention. The red Echidna was on his feet in an instant as the green light radiating from the giant jewel shone like a beacon for miles around.

It was clear by the expression on the Echidna's face that he could understand the light and from that Rouge gathered that the Emerald was in fact talking to him. The air around them seemed to shimmer and within the depths of the jewel itself, an image clarified. It took a moment to form, but when it did it showed an image both Rouge and Knuckles were familiar with. The semi-circular form of the ARK Space Colony.

"ARK?" Knuckles began in confusion. "You want me to go to ARK? Why?" The image dissolved, before reforming into another image. A large round face with a long orange moustache lancing out from a pointed noise materialized out of nothingness. Eggman was holding in each hand a Chaos Emerald; with a hideously wide smile on his face. Knuckles grimaced before sitting back down with his arms crossed stubbornly. "Eggman is not my concern." In reply to his statement, the image liquefied again before solidifying in the form of a towering dark image with piercing red eyes. Knuckles shuddered involuntarily, a shiver running down his spine at the sight of it. The familiarity in those eyes very disturbing. "But I can't leave you here unprotected." The images within the Emerald died away and it's glow started to pulsate again. "No!" Knuckles stated sharply, for once defying the Emeralds wishes. "I'm not going!" There was a sharp flash of light from within the Emerald and almost like a hologram, the image manifested above it in a three dimension shape. A demonic figure with large bull like horns and glowing red eyes, a long spiked tail swinging out behind it's humanoid like form. Those sharp evil eyes latched onto Knuckles and pulsated bright red.

For a moment, the red Echidna was forced violently into his own past. Back into his earliest memory, to the day he came upon the Master Emerald's shrine, being chased there by an evil presence with those very same eyes. Alone in a harsh, unfamiliar world with death closing in on him.

"Knuckles, hey are you in there?" Rouge demanded, seeing the thin trails of cold sweat running down the Echidna's face. Knuckles blinked once, then shuddered.

"Alright, alright I'll go!" With that, the images disappeared completely and the emerald's glow shrank back to normal.

"Hey, are you ok?" Rouge asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. Knuckles swallowed hard, trying to forced the pit that had formed in his stomach closed. The wiped the sweat of his head with his glove.

"Yeah…fine." He lied. The fact of the matter was he was not fine. That sight had petrified him beyond all imagining and he didn't even know why. That figure, the last image the Emerald had shown him had been the spitting image of one of the statues of the Ancient Echidna's god; Krish Kra Pal. Had it been his eyes that had chased him when he was little more than an infant? He took a moment to steady himself, trying to remind himself that he was the tough Knuckles. He didn't show any emotion if he could help it.

"Looks like you're going." Rouge began. Knuckles let his shoulders drop, finally grasping that the Master Emerald had just ordered him to go.

"I can't just leave it here alone."

"Oh come on Red." The bat laughed, putting his arm around his shoulders. "It managed to survive without you for a good thousand years. What's a couple of weeks?"

"Weeks!"

"Don't worry about it Knuckles. After Metal Sonic used it to transform into Metal Overlord, G.U.N began considering the Emerald a top security concern. Over a quarter of their remaining surveillance satellites are used to monitor both you and your little jewel." She smiled playfully at him. "Don't that make you feel special?" Knuckles was too annoyed to respond.

* * *

Fang had no loyalties. He was a mercenary, assassin and muscle for hire. He would undertake any job for money. Murder, assignation, theft, arson; whatever the client wanted really. He was allied ultimately only to himself and his profits. So when he was asked to undertake this errand he carried very little about the specific details and he did so only when he was told how much he was being paid. 

Sabotage was amongst his variety of services and it bothered him not that his target was the G.U.N Military. Sneaking onto the base hadn't been altogether difficult. Most guards were on the look out for attacking Eggman Empire attack robots, not a lone raider trying to make his way onto restricted ground.

The base his clients had picked as his target was a large one located deep in the French countryside, miles away from any town or city. His clients had not identified themselves officially, but Fang had a clear idea of who was paying him to do this. Not that it really mattered. As long as the money was in his hands at the end of the day, he'd kill, bomb or destroy just about anything.

Clipping the bared wire fence with a pair of pliers, Fang slipped effortlessly past the patrolling Laser Hunter robots and into the base itself. Standing in the bay, ready to move out were four of the large, pilot-able Mech-Walkers G.U.N was deploying heavily in their campaign against the Empire. These were large robotic machines with enough fire power to lay waist to over half a dozen tanks. These were the weapons on the future. Nearly every army on Earth had them used in military campaigns now.

These were not his targets. His mission was to get inside the base, set explosives in the armoury and then steal one thing from their research labs. For this job, he was being paid a large amount of cash and any difficulties he encountered along the way would sufficiently raise that amount. So he would be sure to run into a little difficultly now and then.

Strapped across his back was a brown leather backpack, filled to the brim with everything he would need for this job. Cutting equipment, several spare rounds for his gun and a lot of explosive devices and detonators. Security on the base turned out to be far tight inside the buildings than he'd originally expected. In fact, far much more. More guards, security cameras and patrolling robots. That more than doubled his originally fare.

Getting inside the main compound through a ventilation shaft, Fang began silently crawling through the murky collection of metal tunnels, his purple fur snagging against the in-turned steal rivets that held it all together.

This way he could avoid most security systems and have access to the mass majority of the base. Located the armoury took longer than expected, but eventually he removed the grating from one of the vents and poked his head out, nearly dropping his hat into a security infra-red beam that lined the corridor. From this vantage point, he could see a large security door with the words: **_ARMOURY: RESTRICTED ACCESS_**; Printed on in large white letters.

Two security camera's were watching the door, and the weasel could also here voices from not too far away. This door was being watched like a hawk, but it wasn't as if Fang had much of a choice in his method of entry. He didn't have time to find another way in. The longer he stayed on the base, the greater his risk of detection was. Sooner of later, someone was going to notice the clipped wires back at the perimeter.

Reaching into his bag, he withdrew several suction cups which he attached to his palms and knees and then slowly he crawled out of the vent and across the ceiling, the suction keeping him above the lien of sight of the cameras and the security beams.

"Spider Man's got nothing on me." He whispered with a short laugh to himself, climbing over the cameras and discounting the two of them from their power supplies, leaving two large blank spots in the security grid. He estimated after that, security would be alerted to his presence in just a few minutes.

Still attached to the ceiling, fearing his section of floor could be triggered with alarm sensors, Fang reached into his back again and took out a mobile hacker. This small device was about the size of a mobile phone and would probably pass for one if it was ever examined by police. Two long wires lanced out from it and these the Weasel attached to the large panel at the side of the door.

The door itself required a security code in order to open, but a few dummy commands were good enough. Packing everything he wouldn't need away, Fang dropped down to the floor and reached for his gun, a silencer extending the barrel by another inch.

Once the metallic door had retracted, Fang darted inside and hide behind the nearest big thing he could find. The armoury was a large chamber with a towering ceiling, large forklifts helping the personnel to move large crates from one end to the other; all marked with the G.U.N **_G_** symbol.

Several of the Raptor Walkers stood at the far end, their pilots sitting in the cockpits testing out the system responses. Fang looked up briefly as a large metal door to the outside opened up and a large, Yahger Mech marched itself in, the floor trembling under it's footsteps before it stopped directly in the centre of the room and the glass cockpit opened up.

Taking out the plastic explosives, Fang looked for a place where he could place them. It would have to be a good hiding place. It would need to keep them hidden long enough for him to leave and remotely detonate them from a distance. For a moment he considered inside one of the crates, but that wasn't practical. Crates were entering and leaving the armoury all the time, he wouldn't be able to ensure the explosive wound stay in the room that way.

Looking up, he saw a tall metal ladder leading up to the rafters above. That would be perfect. Scaling it before anyone could notice him; he planted one just underneath a rafter, setting the detonator to remote control mode. Planting the others in various locations here and there, all in ingeniously thought-out hiding places, Fang paused to admire his work from the safety of the shadows. The fact that his explosives would most probably kill everyone here did not weigh too heavily on his conscience, as he did not have one.

Still, his job was not finished yet. Contained up within the bases new technologies lab was a piece of hardware his clients desperately wanted and he had little intention of disappointing them.

* * *

The flight from France to Rome had lasted longer than expected; on-top of an hour delay in the departure lounge after a couple of Eggman Empire Dreadnaughts had been sighted in the area. But finally Chris and Chuck arrived in the city of Rome. It was here that Prof Toriyama, a famous archaeologist had uncovered something to extreme importance; at least according to Chuck's friend Artimus. Something so important that might have the potential to put his life in danger. 

One of the artefacts he uncovered from his dig site bore the symbol of the Foundation; a fanatical order of cultists that once masqueraded at high level businessmen. Chuck wasn't entirely sure what he would find once he got there, but if his hunch was correct Toriyama's find could be both monumental and possibly cataclysmic.

"Just what does this Toriyama person look like?" Chris asked as his grandfather hired a jeep for the day just outside the airport.

"Artimus didn't give me an exact description." Chuck admitted, tugging down the round pale cream hat ha had down over his eyes to block out the flares from the sun. "Just the location of his dig site." The site itself, according to the map Chuck had in his pocket; was located in the wilderness not to far from the city limits. However, none of the resident G.U.N forces were being allowed to patrol the area. They had received orders to keep clear and allow private guards to be stationed along the perimeter.

That made getting inside the excavation site difficult, but not impossible. Since Chuck had accepted a job as one of G.U.N's top level scientists, he had been given a VIP pass. Anyone with one of those had near unlimited access to any and all military seized areas. The guards around the outside of the dig site had little choice by to reluctantly let him and his grandson pass.

The site was a large oval hole in the ground, with a large collection of digging and lifting equipment stacked around the outside edge. Some of the foliage around the sides had been cut away for a large collection of white tents on the far side of the hole. Looking down into it, Chris could see that they had uncovered the remains of some kind of building, rubble and mounds of dirt carefully being dusted away by a small army of people and pieces uncovered were being loaded into wooden crates. After that, they were then lifted up to ground level for study by the team on the surface.

Chuck was quick to notice some of the artefacts they uncovered were instantly boxed and sealed up, stacked in a corner awaiting removal. No self respecting archaeologist would even consider something like that, unless of course they had a gun barrel jabbed in their back.

"Yes can I help you?" A Japanese man hunched over a make shift table asked without looking up from his magnifying glass as he studying several broken fragments of some emblem.

"Prof. Toriyama?" Chuck asked. The man looked up briefly. The two of them could now see a long scar down the left hand side of his face.

"Wee?" He asked after a moment of careful consideration; as if careful not to talk to people he shouldn't.

"My name is Chuck Thorndyke and this is my Grandson Chris."

"Thorndyke?" Toriyama repeated, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Oh Wee, Artimus mentioned you in passing." They shook hands. "I take it Arti' asked you to come down here to see how I was doing?" Chuck seemed a little astonished at that last remark.

"Well, yes…" Toryiama sighed, putting his magnifying glass back into his jacket pocket.

"He's a good friend, but sometimes jealous can make anyone go green." He was definitely Asian, but his accent was a very strong French. "Can I get you a drink?" He asked, Chuck only nodded dumbly; an itchy dryness suddenly forcing it's way into the back of his throat. With a wide smile, he lead them across the camp to the tents. Once inside however, his smile disappeared and he looked back through the doorway to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"Listen very careful and be quietly; I don't have much time." He stated with such force either Chris nor Chuck said anything. He reached into his trouser pocket and withdrew a small sheet of paper. "Take this to the address mentioned at the top. Ask for Andre'." Before chuck could even blink in surprise he thrust it into his hand. "He will explain everything to you. I can't say anything more now; I'm under near constant surveillance. Go, quickly before you attract too much attention." He quickly poured a drink from the drinks cabinet and trust it into Chuck's other open hand. He looked like he was about to add something when the shadow of one of the patrolling guards passed over the doorway. "Going so soon, well do stop by some other time." Quickly he pushed them out the door. The guard standing outside gave them both a sidelong glance and quickly they made their way to the entrance of the camp.

"What as that all about Grandpa?" Chris asked once they were out ear shot from the guards, standing at the side of their jeep. Chuck looked back, then at the note in his hand. It was an address for some apartment in Rome, not too far from Camp itself. As for the message itself, it was written in some sort of code than he couldn't understand.

It seemed Artimus had been right with his concerns. It seemed Toriyama had stumbled across something big and some powerful people were involved.

"I don't know…" He began, then he downed his drink in one gulp. "But I intend to find out."

* * *

"Ready for another adventure red?" Sonic asked as he saw Knuckles come down the catwalk towards the ship; the most irritated look imaginable on his face. He'd arrived with Rouge as an escort a few minutes ago and judging by the look on his face most people judged it wise to stay out of his way. 

"I don't know how you did it Sonic but I know you had something to do with the Master Emerald's decision." The Echidna snapped at him. "But let me be perfectly clear from the start. I don't want to be here and had any oneother than the Master Emerald asked me to go I'd still be back where I belong." With that, he barged angrily past the blue hedgehog.

"Whatever happened to hello?" He asked himself, before following the Echidna inside.

"He's been in a mood since we got here." Rouge explained. "He's never taken an order from a superior before."

"Knuckles has a superior?"Sonic asked in surprise. Rougenodded wearily.

"That Emerald of his."The blue hedgehogrolled his eyes.

Strapping themselves into the seats, the team heading into space consisted of Tails, Knuckles, Sonic, Amy and Rouge. The X Tornado had been loaded into the hanger area of the Icarus, along with a few things Okida thought that they were going to need before too long. Without warning the ship tilted backwards for a moment before righting itself again and if something very heavy had just stepped on it's rear end.

"What was that?" Amy asked, trying to look out one of the porthole windows at the side.

"That must have been Omega." Rouge replied flatly with no hint of surprise in her voice. "He won't be riding with us though; he's content to stay in the back." Tails had placed himself in the cockpit at the controls. While this was Chuck's creation, he was to be the pilot. Chuck, naturally would have been delighted to pilot them into possible hostile territory in search of a diabolical madman, but he had pressing business else ware to take care of. Of course, he was sweating a great deal when he said that so Tails didn't take his explanation too seriously.

"Ladies and gentleman if you please take note of the exits to your left and right, to be used only in the unlikely event of an emergency. Space suits are located in the compartments below your seats." Sonic began in the most upper class voice he could manage.

"That isn't funny Sonic." Knuckles snapped angrily.

"No really I'm serious." Sonic replied, taking out a helmet out from under his seat. There was a loud groaning sound as a complex set of machinery set to work and daylight began pouring through the ceiling towards them as a pair of shutter doors began to open up to the world outside.

"Ok guys, launching bay has been cleared of personnel, you are free to lift off." Okida announced over the intercom. "We'll keep the Eggman Empire busy down here while you go after the fat guy himself. Good luck."

"Roget that." Tails replied, before flicking a few final switches and settling back into the seat with the controls in his hands. "T –minus ten to lift off." Everyone's throat seemed to go dry at that point, their gaze fixed on the cloudless sky beyond the pane of glass in the cockpit. "Nine, eight, seven, six." This wasn't the first them they'd gone into space. They all seemed to have this strange feeling of _de-ja-vu_ about it. This was almost the exact same situation they were in last time, when Chris had been taken to the ARK by Shadow after Prison Island exploded. Hopefully, this situation won't be as complicated at the last time. "Five, four, three, two." Tails didn't even finish, he simply counted that last numbers in his head before he hit the ignition button.

The rockets at the back of the craft roared angrily to life and after a minute the craft began to move slowly, before blasting forward towards the sky. Breaking out of the base itself and finally into the air the Icarus left the ground far behind and was souring into the clouds in no time. With a sonic boom, the craft began to shrink into the sky; becoming a mere speak to those watching from the ground.

Knuckles hadn't enjoyed the last trip into outer space and he disliked this one even more. He was sure he left his stomach on the ground. Sonic was tempted briefly to cry …_"To infinity and beyond!" _but eventually decided against it. With a loud window shattering boom, the Icarus punched a hole straight through the atmosphere and evenything grew silent. No one said anything for a few moment, before they looked out the side windows to see a black universe full of stars beyond it, the faint glow of the planet just behind them.

"Wow." Amy remarked, looking out the window. "That couldn't have been more than five minutes and look how high up we are."

"The Icarus was designed to be fast." Tails replied, un-strapping himself; but then rather unexpectedly found himself floating upwards. Now sufficiently beyond the gravitational pull of the earth walking on any solid surface seemed near impossible. "Hey, this is fun." He added, after setting the computer on auto pilot. Sonic watched him float past, before unbuckling himself and following him.

"A hedgehog could get used to this." He stated with a grin, putting his arms behind his head as he floated above their heads. Knuckles simply folded his arms and remained in his seat, glaring out his window angrily.Once beyond the atmosphere, the wings on either side of the ship pushed themselves outwards, unfolding delicately to form two large sheets of metal forming a giant triangle. A third sheet descended from the ships underbelly like a giant fin.

_"Doctor Eggman…"_ Becoe began, looking up from his control panel onboard the Egg Carrier 3 that was due to arrive at the Space Colony ARK within the next few minutes; the giant semi- circular station already in sight on the main viewer. The large spire; the towering Eclipse Cannon had been removed and dismantled, leaving an almost wanting hole directly in it's centre.

"What is it, I'm busy here?" Eggman sighed, looking over the top of the clip board containing the final reports from the hanger._"We have a ship on the long range sensors. The computer estimates it's destination is the ARK as well."_ Eggman paused, put the clip board down before standing up; striding down to stand over his Hence-bots shoulder.

"Affiliation?"

_"It's not transmitting one of our codes Doctor; and we're too far away to see if it's a new G.U.N ship."_ Eggman narrowed his eyes; realizing the truth almost at once.

"Persistent hedgehog." He snarled from between clenched teeth, returning quickly to his chair. "Turn the Egg Carrier around, put us on an intercept course."

_"But sir, what about the ARK?"_ Decoe asked suddenly.

"Leave a few badniks to hold it down until we get back; we cannot allow that ship to go anywhere!"

* * *

(In Chris' voice) 

Shadow returns next time on Sonic X Dark Ages. But is that a good thing? What is his connection to the cunning Void? What plot have Chris and Chuck stumbled across? And what is Fang up to? Find out next time on Sonic X: The battleground called ARK. Don't miss it!


	9. Episode 5

(I do not own Sonic X: ETC)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO! 

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 5: The battleground called ARK

* * *

ARK had been declared an off limits zone for all nations since the accident fifty years ago, but after that whole Project Shadow incident G.U.N had the entire colony shut down. While it's main structures remained intact, the Eclipse Cannon and many of the other defensive systems had been completely shut down. 

Patrolling the abandoned colony were over a dozen of the Badnik robots created by Doctor Eggman. His arrival on board the Egg Carrier 3 had been delayed when his ship had to make an unexpected detour.

However, they were not the only forces silently taking up positions in and around the Space Colony. After it was discovered that Void was setting up a command post in this dimension, Templar Angels also began moving to contour his efforts.

Templars were Illumina's most prized warriors. Shaped like angels of popular myth and religion, these beings had snow white skin and large yellow eyes. Their wings were bird like but instead of being white or gold, their colours ranged from a blood red to a grass green. All of them were armed with long silver spears or staffs, engraved with precise carvings along their length.

The sheer size of the ARK did not seem to impress them very much. To them, the colony was nothing more than the largest piece of garbage mankind had shot into space thus far. Still, it's strategic position was not something to be ignored. They could hold their position here until they located Void's command post and destroy it.

ARK was large enough to have it's own atmosphere, so they didn't have to waste the energy providing the energy for a shield. A small collection of them had gathered on the outside edge of one of the large sheets of metal had lanced out from the colonies side. Upon which they were beginning the construction of a large pillar like device taller than all of them with an odd crystal at the top. This was their version of a radar dish. With it they could monitor the surrounding space for any approaching objects.

"Fairly simple dimension." One of them remarked, glancing down at the blue planet below. "Why would Void want to create an outpost in this insufficient world?"

" **_'Why' _**is not any of our concern." Their leader, the largest one with long brown hair and red wings told them, patting the pillar to make sure their work was completed. "Just carry out Illumina's orders."

"Yes sir." One of them was about to add something more, when a bolt of golden lightning came flying out nowhere, colliding with the pillar, snapping it in half like a twig. Several of them slid out of the way as it came crashing down, the other half floating off into space.

"You do not belong here." A voice stated as they turned to face a dark figure standing on top of a steal pillar that jutted out from the ARK's surface. It was too dark for any of them to see it's features, but there were clearly several large quills lancing out the back of it's head.

"And just who are you?" Their leader demanded of the dark figure, readying their weapons. Without warning, a pair of blood red eyes shaped open.

"I am the Ultimate Life-form." Came the blunt reply, before a multitude of yellow bolts came flying out of the darkness, sending several of them cascading off the platform. Shadow the Hedgehog came sliding out of the shade, smashing out of them directly in the chin with a punch, before flooring him with a solid kick across his mid section.

"You dare attack the emissaries of Illumina?" Their leader demanded, brandishing a large silver coloured staff swinging it forward trying to give the black and red hedgehog a blow from the side. Shadow simply bent backwards under the swipe, before spiralling up into the air, his weight forcing him into a spin attack which knocked the angel off centre before one last kick sent him flying over the side to join the rest of his comrades. Shadow watched them as they fell beyond the confines of the ARKS self sustaining atmosphere, before they vanished in what he could only describe as their own version of Chaos Control' returning to Maginaryworld.

"Good work Shadow." Void's voice told him in his head, an intrusion that irritated Shadow to no end. "You've located Illumina's expedition in the real world. There should be more of them in that area but my forces will handle the mass majority of them; just cause as much trouble as you can behind their lines." The black and red hedgehog sighed reluctantly.

"Fine." Was his reply, standing up looking over the rest of the space before the ARK; a place that sent both shiver running down his spin and a warm glow into his heart. It was here that his entire existence had been shaped, both the good memories and the bad forced into his head.

"Don't get sentimental now Shadow." Void reminded him sharply. "We still have a job to do and the last thing we need is for you to get distracted."

"Copy that." He added, before disappearing in a green flash.

* * *

By now the Icarus was passing through the large collection of debris from the moon that had been blown off by the Eclipse Cannon; most of which had settled into a faint ring around the planet. Omega remained de-activated down in the cargo hold, a towering cold inanimate object. The Robotic solider saw no particular reason to waste run-time on the trip, so unless an energy occurred he would remain on stand by. 

Rouge was still finding it strange that she didn't have to use her wings to float outside the reach of the planets gravity. She had always had to flap in order to lift herself upwards and his simple floating put her slightly on edge. Sonic seemed to like it through. He was floating through the cabins with his arms tucked behind his head and his legs crossed; the most relaxed look imaginable on his face.

The Icarus living spaces were made up of four compartments all linked together by a small corridor, a large collection of wires running along the ceiling. The two bedrooms occupied a space just in front of the engines were so compact it seemed to get to the actual beds they'd have to go in single file.

Knuckles had remained in his seat since they took off. He sat there staring out of the window at the planet below, a deep resentment of the fates for landing him one again in one of Sonic's adventures. Guarding the Master Emerald had been the only thing he had ever known, that is until the blue hedgehog entered his life. Wandering and adventure came naturally to him; but to Knuckles it was a near alien concept. He failed to see the attraction between Sonic and exploration.

Perhaps, growing up with super speed; the blue hedgehog had built up that personality. As for Knuckles, he had spent most of his childhood and adolescence training himself to guard the Master Emerald; an instinct that had been deep rooted in him the moment he first laid eyes on the giant jewel. He had had little to no reason for wandering and it seemed strange to him.

Lately, Knuckles had been journeying more and more away from the island; usually with Sonic as a travelling companion. A coincidence perhaps'; but Knuckles was not one to believe in coincidences.

Unexpectedly, the compartments above his head sneezed. He looked up, his eyes blinkingin surprise. He was a stranger to the ways of those outside Angel Island, but he was pretty sure that inanimate object didn't sneeze.

Standing up, he reached up and opened the compartment; to find an orange face staring back at him.

"E…hi." Cream began nervously.

"Chao Chao…" Cheese began beside her, hiding inside the compartment with them was Emerl; the humanoid robot that now served as Cream's personal guardian. The robot never let the rabbit out of his sight for even a second. It was like he had sworn to keep her safe until the day he stopped functioning.

"Cream?" Amy began in exclamation and Knuckles lifted her out down to the floor. "What the hell are you doing here?" Cream tried her best to look innocent, but now she was now over eight she was fastely loosing the perfection of that art and the angry gaze from the pink hedgehog seemed to melt away her defences altogether.

"I don't get to go on anymore adventures with you guys; my mom won't let me." She admitted, looking guilty. Amy slapped her forehead.

"You can't really blame her for being protective." Sonic began. "After all, she is you mom."

"Tails, turn the ship around." Rouge began wearily. The fox only looked up briefly from the Icarus' control panel, a com device tucked into one ear.

"No can do. We've entered the rings. If I don't keep a straight course we'll be bashed into pieces." They could all plainly see what he meant by that. The clusters around them were all spinning this way and that as the thin ring encircled the planet, one mistake on Tails' part and they were going to be crushed.

"Well can't you turn around once we clear them?" Knuckles asked, secretly eager for any excuse to get back to the Master Emerald. Tails shook his head.

"By then Eggman's Egg-moon will have picked up on radar. If we turned around then we'd be sitting ducks." Amy groaned.

"So it's past the point of no return then?" Cream suddenly looked very hopeful. Tails rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I thought you'd have enough sense to at least try and stop her." Amy began at Emerl, who stood there as silent as usual. "But no. Not only do you let her go, you actually go with her!" In fact like Cream herself, Emerl had no sense of danger or subconscious fear. He was a machine; things that came naturally to most organics did not sway him. He was driven only by logic and his logic told him that he had to go with Cream to protect her. When he didn't answer; Amy gave up went floating down the ship to brood.

"Great…" Knuckles muttered sarcastically, throwing his hands up into the air. "This just gets better and better." It was clear that The Echidna's mood was deteriorating rapidly as the trip progressed. Knuckles had never been the easiest person to talk to, but not he seemed even less social. Sonic opened his mouth to say something to the red Echidna, saw the tempered scowl on his face and thought better of it.

"You do know when we get back, your mom will probably hang you out to dry?" He told Cream, who seemed intensely amused at the way she was floating above the floor in the lack of gravity. "And I hate to think of what she'll do to me if you get hurt." He added, a sudden picture of a enraged Vanilla popping unbidden into his head. He shuddered.

"She trusts you Sonic. She knows that you wouldn't let anything happen to me." She replied confidently. The blue hedgehog smiled wearily. "Besides, I've got Cheese and Emerl to keep an eye on me." She added, gesturing over to her silent guardian; who was staring out one of the windows down at the planet.

"That Echidna!" Rouge declared angrily, sitting down. Several hours had passed and they were beginning to near their destination; the space colony ARK and so far no sign of the Egg Carrier. That remained to be seen if that was a good thing. Apparently, Sonic had been correct. Vanilla had been furious with Cream with they sent a message back on the Icarus' com device. But she had been right that she trusted him to get her back down to Earth in one piece.

Cream was up in the cockpit with Tails, watching as the Space Colony grew bigger and bigger as they approached. Like always, her Chao Cheese and Emerl never left her side.

Sonic looked up briefly from an in flight magazine before going back to an interesting article. He didn't understand what it was going on about, but he felt it was more profitable to stay out of this situation. "Where does he get that superior attitude of his?" The bat demanded crossing her arms, glaring out the porthole window at the stars as the ship finally cleared the ring, the last few remains of the asteroids passing by.

"Knuckles' is complicated." Amy put in carefully, unsure of whether Rouge would bite her head off for speaking.

"Complicated?" She repeated narrowed both eyes at the pink hedgehog sceptically, her emerald eyes ablaze with intense annoyance. "He's rude, self-opinionated with an ego so inflated it dwarfs the ship." She slammed her feet against the seat in front of her angrily and sat there shimmering.

"He doesn't know how to be around people that's all." Amy continued slowly. "He grew up alone on Angel Island, miles away from another living soul. The only company he's had has been the Master Emerald." Rouge breathed out through her nose angrily.

"That jewel is probably the only one of its kind, and I HATE it!" Amy could see exactly how hard it was for her to admit that. She loved gemstones of all kinds. It was a lust interwoven into her subconscious so deeply she could acquire jewels without even realizing it. For her to admit her hatred for an emerald went against who she was. "It's the only thing he thinks about."

"He takes his Guardianship very seriously." Amy added, finding another point to the Echidna's defence.

"It's an obsession." Rouge replied still very irritated.

"It's the only thing he's even known. It's hard for him to be away from it for ny extended period of time." The pink hedgehog's eyes widened as she remembered a perfect example. "When we were first sent to Earth, all Knuckles could think about was collecting the Chaos Emeralds to return himself to the Mobius and Angel Island. After the worlds merged, he went right back to his previous life style. He can't stand being away from the island for long; it's just the way he was grew up. "As she spoke, Rouge's anger began to subside piece by piece.

By her own nature she was quick to anger, maintaining that anger however was a different matter. Casting a glance back she could see Knuckles staring down longingly down at the planet below. It wasn't just his duty of guardianship that kept him bound to that island. Knuckles had never known what it was to have a family. He probably couldn't remember what it was like to be in the arms of a mother. He'd grown up into the handsome Echidna he was beside that giant Emerald. She couldn't really blame him for his apparent lack of social skills. Nor could she really blame him for being defensive towards her. She had tried to steal that emerald numerous times.

A sigh caught her attention and she looked back to see Amy staring over at Sonic, who was pretending not to notice her attention but was well aware of it anyway.

"I see that hasn't changed." She remarked, nudging Amy in the ribs playfully. A faint blush tinged her cheeks.

"No it hasn't." She admitted. "Lately I've been making headway with it. But…"

"But what?"

"But sometimes I just wish he'd take me in his arms and…." Her blush seemed to intensify. Rouge chuckled to herself.

"Be glad you can get near him." Amy looked up, confused by that for a moment before she picked up at the hint.

"You mean you…" Rouge nodded, her own blush appearing. Amy marvelled at her own stupidity for a moment after failing to see it sooner.

"It's more of a challenge with him." She replied, looking back at the Red Echidna. "Even if all I can do is get him to smile, my times been well spent."

Sonic was pretending he couldn't hear them, even if he was obviously within ear shot. This was a conversation avoided if possible. For his own sake as much as anyone else's. He was trying to avoid any up front conversations when it came to any romantic intentions Amy had towards him.

He wasn't running from her anymore, but he was drawing that line because; despite the fact that his own feelings for her were growing, he was Sonic the Hedgehog, world renowned hero. He didn't like the idea of being tied down. He loved to travel far too much for that.

Almost as if she faded in out of nothing, Tikal appeared directly between them with a blank look on her face. Amy and Rouge were left speechless as she looked out the now unfamiliar surroundings. She seemed a little surprised when gravity now longer had any effect on her as he floated above the floor. Sonic looked above his brochure, before a wide smile spread over his face and he sat up.

"Hey Tikal." He called over, floating up himself. "Any word from Shadow yet?" Sadly the female Echidna shook her head with a depressed look on her face.

"Unfortunately no. I know where he might be through, which I why I've come here." Knuckles, who had also noticed their sudden visitor nearly tore himself out of his seat when he saw her.

"Sonic, just what is going on?" Both Rouge and Amy seemed to demand at the same time.

"Long story." He replied sheepishly. "Cutting it down, Tikal here's been searching for Shadow for us while he dealt with Eggman." The female Echidna looked around the inside of the Icarus, puzzled by the strange metallic walls. While she had seen many strange things in the levels of reality outside this one; anything modern seemed alien and a little too complex for her liking.

"I thought I'd find you fighting Eggman. Strange your energy signal lead me here." She glanced out of the window, seeing the blue glow from the planet below. Almost memorized by it, she walked over and stared for at least a whole five minutes. "Beautiful."

* * *

A good twenty miles east of Cornwall was one of the biggest Eggman Empire bases currently stationed in the British Isles. It severed as one of Eggman's rely depots. Troops both human and machine stationed at garrisons in the South came here to pick up ammunition and supplies before moving out to various locations. The base was surrounded by a large wall with bared wire running along the top, the actual buildings surrounded by a large collection of bunkers, all containing tanks and other forms of military equipment. A long runway ran down the northern side, a small collection of attack choppers sitting on the far end. Long each side of the runway, a long row of Dreadnaughts stood to attention; all set standby mod ready for deployment. The base itself was stationed of a platue overlooking the sea, a thick wind smashing it into a froth. 

"This stinks." One of the human guards muttered as he and his partner patrolled the outer edge of the base.

"Yeah I know. I thought things would get better once those lying politicians were out of power." The other replied with a sigh, looking up at the sky as a thunder bolt crossed it and it began to rain. "But this is worse than before."

"I was referring to the smell those factories pump out." The first put in with levelled eyes. "I don't particular care who's in charge as long as I get paid." The second shrugged.

"You're life. But personally I think we've been taking for a ride by the Elite."

"Best not mention that to the Captain though, you know what happened to the last guy that disobeyed orders." Another thunder bolt crossed the sky and at the same time the ground shook.

"Big one." One of the guards muttered, looking up at the sky. Suddenly and without a thunder bolt escort arrived, and then another, each one louder than the one before it. Looking upwards towards the wall, the two of them looked up just in time to see a large mechanical shape came striding over the wall, crushing a laser turret under it's large flat foot.

With a loud thuds echoing each foot step, the Raptor Walker marched out onto the end of the runway; the large gun turrets at the front already in full swing as its long legs took it souring past the Dreadnaughts, riddling the small robots with holes. Alarms began blaring, suddenly silenced as a missile impacted the side of the control tower.

The Raptor stopped dead, its torso swinging around to face a large collection of laser fire turrets on the ridge overlooking the base. It only took a second for it's sensors to target their foundations and once that second was over, the air was filled with basslic missile fire.

Once the turrets were a smouldering ruin, the Raptor about faced and turned its attention to the rest of the base; which by now was on full high alert. Large shutter doors began opening and a procession of tanks moved out, followed by swarms of flying Badniks; making up the base security force.

A grim smile played over Okida's face. They'd taken the bait. Getting a Raptor across the channel unseen had not been difficult. While the channel tunnel itself had been blocked off by the Eggman Empire, they failed to seal a couple of the lower tunnels built during early construction. Some of which were just large enough to march a Mech through.

Slamming the missile fire controls down, he emptied over half his ammunition into the swarming mass coming straight at him before he reversed the Mech's direction and took the battle machine running straight out of the base towards the sea.

Seeing that their target was running away, the badniks raised their laser rifles as fired a succession of fire directly at him, hoping to cripple the Mech or at least disable it long enough for the tanks to get the machine within range. The Raptor had been built for speed and easily managed to outdistance the blasts, before leading them all down towards the beach.

Once at the waters edge, the Mech stopped and turned around to face them. There was some momentary confusion amongst the badniks as to the strange behaviour, but that didn't last long.

Perched on a nearby cliff face was a Turtle Mech, its large collection of artillery guns already emptying all it's ammunition directly down towards them. The badniks with their fast reflexes instantly flew backwards to avoid it, but the slow moving tanks were not so lucky, all of them instantly consumed by fire.

"The idiots actually fell for it." Topaz remarked, finally shutting down the Turtle Mech's automatic fire function. "And by the looks of the radar, they've requested aid from the surrounding defenders." She added. "Looks like your estimations were bang on the money Major."

"Naturally." Was the bats reply, switching the Walker back into combat mode, the large machine gun turrets at the front of the Mech swinging outwards. His radar was showing the exact same thing. Reinforcements from the surrounding garrisons. Once those were drawn out of the area; the rest of Freelance Division could carry on with their mission.

Their plan was working perfectly. "That should give those guys enough time to get in to do their job." He looked up, noticing that the badniks had about faced and were preparing to make a contour attack. "Shame they have their mission, this looks like could be a lot of fun. Ok Topaz, I'll keep them occupied here. You get into the base." Without another word, his Raptor went striding forwards, missiles already in the air.

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Tikal

Age?

Sex: Female

Species: Echidna


	10. Episode 5, part 2

I do not own Sonic X...etc.

* * *

Flip card 2:

Name: Shadow

Age: Over fifty years

Species: Hedgehog "Ultimate Life-form"

Sex: Male

Description: Frozen in suspended animation for fifty years, Shadow is the end result of Project Shadow; started by Prof. Gerald Robotnik.

* * *

Alarms on the base started blaring even before the explosion tore through the ammunitions room and the entire compound instantly went into high alert, every corridor and chamber instantly flooded with a red light. Thinking the base was under attack, pilots began scrambling towards their Mech Walkers; only to discover that the mass majority of them had been severely damaged by the explosion.

With the base in Chaos; Fang expected traversing it's interior to be difficult, when in actually he found it unbearably easy. One time he walked down a corridor with a security camera staring right at him and everyone was too busy trying to contain the fires in the ammunitions room to even notice.

With a wide smile on his face, he kicked the door to the base science labs open; ready to claim the final thing he needed in the compound. The science labs were a small collection of rooms with a lot of equipment stacked up against the walls, rows of tables sat directly in the middle of the room, a complex set of stuff on them that Fang didn't recognise.

His client had been very precise. He was looking for a burnt collection of machinery set apart by itself. Mostly blue, with a few starched grey pieces. Most of what was here was grey; but eventually the weasel managed to sight it. It was lying at the far end of the room, a long set of wires attaching it to a tall processing unit above.

Fang simply tore them off one by one and then lifted the burnt remains; finding he was looking directly in the face of the nearly destroyed Metal Sonic. So this was what his client had been so anxious to acquire? What could he possibly want with this robotic corpse? Well, whatever it was, was of no concern of the Weasel's so as long as his money was good.

He paused just long enough to bundle the remains into his backpack, began making a break for the exit with little to no intention of remaining to meet base security.

"Hold it right there!" A voice snapped as someone holding a large gun stepped into the doorway. He was on the ground a few seconds later after Fang smashed a kick into his stomach; making his drop his gun and double over. In an instant after that, Fang was gone.

* * *

"I followed Shadow's trail straight from the Chaos Control warp." Tikal explained once Sonic had gotten everyone together. Most of them said nothing, in awe only at the fact that the female Echidna was in their company again. Emerl, who had never seen Tikal before was only wondering how she had gotten on the ship without them noticing. "The warp exited in an unstable dimension currently in the midst of a civil war; it's a place called Maginary-World."

"Magin..wha?" Rouge began raising her eyebrows in amusement at the name.

"It was their queen who came up with the name." Tikal explained. "It's a plane of reality created by the consciousness of every sentient being in the universe. A giant calumniation of minds and ideas, making it constantly conflicting with itself. The beings who live there are powerful, they have to be in order to survive their homes laws of physics." She hesitated, seeing the vacant expressions on the many faces around her.

"Well that's simple enough." Sonic muttered sarcastically.

"I managed to locate Shadow's trail again once I got there; but it seems someone got to him before I did." That managed to recapture everyone's attention. "The Templars of that dimension are powerful, but one two of them have the means to interrupt a Chaos Control; and only one with the motive."

"Who?" Amy asked.

"His name is Void." Sonic and Tails cringed, remembering that name all well. At the end of the Emerald Grand Prix, the two of them along with Metal Knuckles, Eggman Chuck and Shadow had wound up in come crazy crystal dimension called Radiant Emerald. In order to escape they enlisted the help of the realms only inhabitant, a strange small imp like creature called Void. Tikal noticed their sudden worried looks.

"You know him?" She asked the two of them. The two shot each other nervous glances.

"Sort of." Sonic began. "We bumped into him in some weird place called Radiant Emerald." Tikal's eyes winded.

"You've actually been to Radiant Emerald?" She asked with a near shocked expression on her face. Tails nodded slowly. "That was a prison realm; once made to hold Void after he lost a battle in his home dimension. People who go there never come out."

"Well we managed it." Sonic began, flying into a hyped version of the escape from Radiant Emerald; making it sound even more perilous than Tails actually remembered it.

"So that's where you went." Amy began. "You never did explain that whole vanishing trick at the start of the race."

"I didn't?" Sonic asked, scratching the back of his head. "Must have slipped my mind." He added with a sheepish smile

"How can something like that slip your mind?" Knuckles asked looking stunned.

"Hey; this sort of thing happens to me one; two times a month." Was the flat reply. Tikal shook her head.

"Void took you a for a fool Sonic." She stated and the blue hedgehog looked slightly taken aback. "When you broke the sound barrier on the pinnacle of Radiant Emerald; you shattered the entire dimension and the restraints it held on Void. He tricked you into letting him out." In awe of his own stupidity, Sonic groaned and slapped his forehead. He hadn't trusted Void when he first met him, but he hadn't guessed that he was up to something like that.

"So what did this Void guy do to get him locked up in the first place?" Rouge asked, hoping to get all the details she could about this incredibly complex situation.

"I don't know exactly." Tikal admitted. "But whatever it was upset their queen as she herself imprisoned him there. After he escaped, he returned to Maginaryworld and has been waging a war against her ever since." That last statement didn't make the blue hedgehog feel any better. "I don't know what Void could be up to with Shadow, but the trail returns to this dimension again."

"Void's here?" Tails began. "Why? I thought you said he was busy fighting a war in that other place." Tikal sighed.

"I don't know." She admitted.

"So now we have to stop Eggman, stop Void from whatever he's doing and find Shadow." Rouge began wearily counting the tasks on her fingers. "Well we certainly won't be bored for the next few days."

"I will continue my search for Shadow." Tikal put in quickly. "Void's intentions will most probably become clear soon. You should concentrate on Eggman for the time being."

Without any warning what so ever; the entire Icarus shook violently as a missle impacted it's side, throwing it violently off course. Clearing the side of the asteroid the colossal form of the Egg Carrier 3 came flying out into the open; the large collection of turrets on it's underside aimed directly at them. That ship of Eggman's just seemed to get bigger each and every time they saw it, as if the scientist was adding another rocket or wing between battles. There was a twinkling of lights up from the side and a large pair of shutter doors pulled themselves open and out swarmed masses of Dreadnaughts. These robots and their jet packs were almost uniquely suited for space flight. Quickly they surrounded the Icarus, forming a thick wall of hostiles on either side; entrapping the ship in a tight circle.

"You honestly didn't believe I wasn't expecting you did you?" Eggman demanded; a large grin spreading from ear to ear as he watched their ship from the comfort of his own throne. "I've got you right where I want you, after all these years. His finger hovered impatiently above a button marked missile control.

Tails however reacted quickly, flipping open a panel on the control and hitting a large green button. Despite the space enhancements the Icarus had received, it still had the little surprise Chuck had built into it. The experimental rocket fuel Super Nitro poured through the engines, which turned bright green for an instantly before the ship was sent rocketing forward at an unthinkable speed, missing the missile fired by the Egg Carrier completely. Any Dreadnaughts unlucky enough to get in the way were pushed violently to the side, some of them ripped violently in half.

"Woah, this thing can really move!" Sonic exclaimed, watching the Egg Carrier shrink into the distance before Tails finally shut down high speed move and the stars around them spotted blurring. "We left Eggman eating our dust with that one." Sonic's statement may have been slightly premature.

Slamming his fist down on another button, Eggman activated cannon mode. While he had had no luck in duplicating the Eclipse Cannon twice, the Egg Carrier cannon was fully repaired and ready to fire, even if it's power was nowhere near it's previous levels. With a loud audible groan, the two halves of the Ships front pulled themselves aside to reveal a metallic spire aimed directly at the fleeing ship, bolts of chaos energy already dancing along its length as a steady glow began to built up into its core. Any Dreadnaught in the way pulled back behind the ship itself, having no desire to be caught in the way of its attack.

The energy gauges inside the ship began to fill before they glowed bright green, showing that the cannon was now at once hundred percent power. Entering the command confirm code, Eggman's sneer widened as he pressed the final button and the ship shook violently.

With an explosion of light that could be seen fro the planet below, a beam of red energy leapt forward, parting the earth's atmosphere at one point before cascading down towards the Icarus at the speed of light. Had it not been for the alarm at the last minute, Tails would have been able to push the ship's controls to the side. It was just enough to prevent their destruction, but not enough to save one of their wings. Torn of by the sheer force of the blast, the Icarus was sent into a spiral, spinning out of control into the depths of space.

On board alarms were blaring in everyone's ears as Tails desperately struggled to maintain control but failing miserably.

"It's no good, we're going to have to land!" He announced after the engines failed to respond for the fifth time.

"Where?" Knuckles demanded, thrown back into the co-pilots seat as the ship tilted forward again, the direction of gravity now to random to tell which way was down. Tails managed to stabilise the ship just enough for the targeting sensors to locate the Ark, which by sheer luck was not too far away, but without their engines they'd never make it there by themselves and attempting a re-entry without them was suicide.

"Sonic, little help?" He asked, looking back to the blue Hedgehog; who was already way ahead of him. Sonic didn't know if he could transport the entire ship through Chaos Control, but since it was the only option open to him he'd just have to go for it. He put himself in the doorway between the cockpit and the rest of the ship and took out of each side, his eyes already emitting a powerful green glow.

"BLAST!" Eggman growled, watching the Icarus on the Egg Carrier's long range sensors disappear in a flash of white light. A flash that could only have been caused by a Chaos Control warp. "Track that energy stream, I want to know exactly where they're going to turn up!" He shouted towards Decoe and Becoe, who saluted him before going to work almost violently over their consoles. "Attention theta, we have possible Hedgehog alert; remain on standby." Was the order the scientist barked down the com single to his personal elite robots; who was always ready to move out at a moments notice.

_"Emersion point found sir."_ Becoe called up.

* * *

Sonic had never tired to move anything as big as the Icarus before; so it came as no big surprise to him that his exit from Chaos Control was less than perfect. The entire ship went flying out of the warp spiralling uncontrollably towards the Space Colony, a large chunk of the sail on its underside torn off. Tails struggled to keep it steady and all his efforts rewarded him was the Icarus crashed directly through one of the shuttle bays on the colonies underside.

The large shutter doors were blown off their hinges as the ship cascaded down through the bay, tearing up the floor before it came to a large wall on it's side, one of the wings catching itself on the edge; bringing the entire ship to a sudden stop.

The badniks Eggman had sent to guard the colony were already on en-route, a few scouts following the ship in through the large hole it had blown in the side of the colony. All they found when they got there was a large collection of smouldering metal lying across a near destroyed shuttle station. Not even Dreadnaughts could survive a crash like that. Just as they were about to report back to the doctor; a large sheet of Metal went flying off the side of the Icarus and out from amongst the flames came a large lumbering shape. Wide arms and short legs, two gun turrets already in full swing on each shoulder, a pair of round red eyes glowing brightly from just beyond the darkness.

A large foot came slamming down, extinguishing the fire before the air around them was filled instantly with missile fire. Even Eggman's latest robots were no match for the E100 prototype. He was by no means as fast as they were, but his large limbs contained far superior fire power. If that wasn't bad enough, as two badniks attempted to come at Omega from behind, a large metal fist came flying out of nowhere, landing a solid punch against one of them, which collided into the other. The metal fist spiralled through the air before returning to the wrist of it's owner. Emerl wasn't as heavily armed as Omega but his lighter design made him much faster.

"Destroy…" Came the flat emotionless command from the E100. Slamming their jets into reverse, the androids flew backwards fast to avoid a stream of bullets as Omega let them have it. Forcing them back out into space, beyond the confines of the colony itself; The E100 gave the other members of the crew a chance to make a break for it. Tikal had been knocked unconscious in the crash and Amy was carrying her over her shoulders. They were in the open here, Eggman could pick them all off one by one unless they got to cover and quickly.

"So far, this expedition is off to a bad start." Knuckles commented dryly as they retreated from the wreckage to a large door at the far end of the shuttle bay.

"You're not making very many friends with that attitude." Sonic snapped, more badniks coming down, fending of only by a steady stream of bullets from Omega. Once they were all inside, the door shut behind them.

"What about Emerl?" Cream asked, looking worried for a moment.

"He can handle himself." Rouge told her. "Right now we have to get to someplace we can regroup."

"How about that science lab we gathered in the last time we were here?" Tails asked, pulling down his goggles over his eyes as the sounds of battle from just beyond the metal door intensified. The place he was suggesting was a technicians lab they had watched Sonic and Shadow battle the Biolizard from.

"Fine, let's go."

ARK was just as dark as they remembered. Every corridor clad in shadows and deadly silent. This orbiting station had been the centre labs for Prof. Gerald Robotnik and his Bio-genetic research into creating the Ultimate life form.

Shadow stood in the doorway to a small room deep within the colony. Like the rest of the station, it was dark and only the light from the outside corridor penetrated the darkness. Taking a deep breath he entered, the familiar sights and even the smells after all this time coming back to him. The room was small and square, with a window overlooking the Earth at the far end; a small bed right next to it. What remained of the furniture lay rotting over the floors. On the bed itself sat the remains of a large teddy bear.

This was her room, he had been here many times before. In fact, he had been on his way here when the invasion of the ARK began. Or had he been? His memories of the past era had never been distinct, and that particular moment in time was clouded the most. Only brief images and sounds leaking through.

The rage her murder had left him with had gone by now; but the pain never left. He picked up the teddy bear. It was her favourite toy. She had been into her teens by that time, but she still kept it around. She said she liked the way it's eyes glinted when the ARK caught a glimpse of sunlight. The station was almost constantly in the Earth's shadow.

A small sound from behind him caught his attention and his whirled around, a chaos Spear lancing through the air at lightening speed, impacting the side of one of the Templar Angels who was trying to fire a silver arrow at him while his back was turned.

"Get off my Colony!" The lack hedgehog snarled, grabbing it by the wings and tossing it back over his shoulders towards several others who were trying a sneak attack.

Sonic blinked, sensing the familiar out burst of energy. Sensing energy patterns did not come as naturally to him a sit did to Shadow, but there was no mistaking that power signature.

"Shadow?" He asked himself. Almost in response the entire colony shook as someone fired off a multitude of Chaos Spear attacks. "Guys, you go one ahead, I've got something to do." Before anyone could argue with him, he vanished like a flash of green light.

"When we get back down to Earth remind me to kill him." Knuckles snarled. Without warning the wall in front of them burst open as a large metallic limb thrust itself towards. Tearing a hole into the corridor came one of Dr. Eggman's Dreadnaughts, over ten times a mobians size with limbs capable of crushing a car. As soon as it saw them, the two large missile pads on it's shoulders opened up. Knuckles darted forward and landed super strong punch against one of it's legs, It swayed there for a moment before toppling backwards.

But that wasn't the end of it, the ever omnipresent sound of laser gun fire was beginning to grow louder and louder and the distant shakings of the colony were becoming like earthquakes. Someone was giving the robots Eggman stationed on the colony a hard time.

"Hey look at that." Tails exclaimed, looking out through a window. Just above the ARK's surface it looked like a scene out of Star Wars. Laser fire was filling the air as Badniks and Dreadnaughts on the Colony itself opened far as two classing armies near the gapping hole where the Eclipse Cannon used to be.

They were all angels, or at least it looked like. One army was clad in silver armour and armed with swords, spears and bows while the others were dressed in armour that resembled natural crystal. The battle was spread over the entire width of the ARK's flat surface.

""Just what…" Amy began in astonishment. Tikal forced her eyes open, her head throbbing from the blow she had taken when the Icarus crashed. That attack by the Egg Carrier had caught them all by surprise. Looking out through the window, she saw what she half expected to see. Those angels in Silver armour were Templars, forces loyal to the ruler of Maginary World; Illumina and those others were rebels lead by Void himself.

Sonic came out of a Chaos Control Warp somewhere on the lower levels of the ARK. He could tell some heavy duty fighting was going down here, the entire colony was shaking.

"Just what is…" He began to himself and without a moments notice, a blast from a Chaos Spear came hurtling down the metal corridor, striking the wall nearby. From just beyond which came the sound of clashing metal before a limp form was sent flying backwards, landing with a square thump on the floor. Sonic rushed over to it instantly, finding to his surprise an angel with blood red wings. She had been wearing silver armour, most of which had been burnt off by some attack. She had also been graciously injured

"Just what do you think you're doing here?" A voice stated. Sonic looked up to see a familiar black hedgehog standing over him, the beginnings of a Chaos Spear attack already burning between his fingers. The black hedgehog demanded angrily.

"Shadow?" He began in surprise. The black hedgehog sneered, pushing past the blue hedgehog with an angry glare on his face.

"I don't have time for this." He remarked dryly, turning back to face the Angel, raising a hand ready to blast her limp form. Seeing his intent, Sonic darted forward and put himself in-between them both; acting as a barrier. "Get out of the way Sonic."

"Just what is going on here Shadow?" He demanded. "Can't you see she's already been beaten?" Shadow looked past the blue hedgehog to the beaten she- angel. Her armour was torn ragged and her blue hair burnt. A few cuts ran down the side of her arm and face, blood oozing out onto the floor. Apart from the wings and the strange lack of a nose she looked very human.

"You shouldn't be here, this isn't your fight." Shadow began, quelling the Chaos Spear and letting his arms drop to his sides. "Get off this colony before you get hurt."

"Not without some answers."

"Look Sonic, don't push me. I'm not in a good mood."

"And neither am I. Now either you tell me what's going on, or you and me got a problem." The two Hedgehogs stood facing each other with narrowing eyes, the tension in the air extremely high.

"If that's the way you want to play it Blue boy, then we do have a problem."

* * *

(In Chris' Voice)

Sonic Vs Shadow? What is going on? What are Void's plans, what's that big battle all about and why? And it gets more Chaotic next time as the Egg Carrier arrives on the scene. Find out what happens next time on Sonic X… The Battle Royal. Don't miss it!


	11. Episode 6

(I do not own Sonic X etc…)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO! GO! GO! GO! LET'S GO!

Episode 6: The Battle Royal

* * *

(-Battle Scene recommended music: _Getting away with Murder: Papa Roach.)_

The female angel had humanoid features, apart from an oddity in the face; no nose. Her skin was faint purple and her hair dark blue. Sonic could see that Shadow had not held back against her. He'd hit this one with everything he had. Her armour had been torn to shreds and every weapon she ha broken in two. She'd made the mistake of crossing the ultimate life form and paid a hefty price for it.

He'd let her live, what more could Sonic ask of him? These trespassers were intruding in what he considered to be a sacred place and in Shadow's point of view that called for the harshest punishment possible.

"Pathetic." The black and red Hedgehog sneered, turning his back on them and vanishing in a flash of green light as Chaos Control took hold.

"Wait!" Sonic called after him, but by then it was all too late; he had gone, leaving only a vacant corridor to answer him. "Ok, now I'm ticked off." Sonic snarled, finally locating the remains of Shadow's Chaos control and flying into a teleport of his own after him leaving the angel behind.

Shadow emerged some distance away on the outside the colony, overlooking the planet below. The large flat platform overhanging the flat surface of the colony was one of the disc like eyes that came together with the other features on it's surface to look like a face.

He'd gotten most of the pillars those Maginary people were using to track Void and by now Void's own forces should have moved into position to force them out of this dimension.

He could see the fight from here, their clashes shaking the entire colony. Shadow had Void's word that once the battle was won, his forces would withdraw from ARK. Shadow certainly hoped he wasn't lying. He thought he'd disturbed this place enough already.

"Ok Shadow, enough is enough." A familiar voice stated as Sonic came flying out of Chaos Control behind him. "I told you I want answers!"

"And I told you to stay out of it!" Shadow yelled; wiping around his eyes narrowed in anger. "But since you insist on being a pain, I'm going to have to take drastic measures!" Sonic didn't even see the punch coming; it was just too fast, even for him. Staggering backwards, he paused to wipe the blood from the side of his mouth before pausing for a brief moment, luring the black hedgehog into a false sense of security. As Shadow lowered his arms, Sonic shot out with a kick, knocking him over.

The black hedgehog back flipped back to his feet and the two of them exchanged blows, landing kick after kick and punch after punch against each other.

At one point, Shadow took hold of Sonic's arm and tossed him into the air before turning back around and fired several Chaos Spears directly at him. Sonic twisted his body in mid air, avoiding the barraged before holding both arms out in front of himself and forcing his own energy attack towards Shadow, the spiralling blast he called the Sonic wind.

Shadow hadn't been expecting it and the swirling vortex caught him completely by surprise, sending him up into the air before hurling him violently back down again.

"Had enough now; want to start talking?" Sonic demanded as Shadow pushed himself up into a sitting position. He paused to wipe the side of his mouth, before a large grin crossed his lips.

"You've gone soft." With astonishing speed, he flipped back to his feet before slamming a punch directly into his opponents face, flooring him. Shadow didn't stop there though.

Taking hold of Sonic by his ankle, he tossed him back over his shoulder slamming him directly into the ground, before reversing direction and repeating the action several times. Finally letting Sonic go, Shadow swung his leg around and smashed a bone shattering kick directly into the blue hedgehog's side. "What have you been doing the past half year you slacker?" The black Hedgehog demanded as Sonic lay there clutching his side in pain. He paused, noticing Sonic wasn't moving all of a sudden, he was just lying there like a limp rag-doll.

Just as Shadow approached the blue hedgehog stopped playing possum and before any defences could go up Shadow was put on the receiving end of another Sonic Wind, the sheer force of which tore the ground from under him and sent his body rocketing into the air.

Sonic thought for a minute he'd won, until of course Shadow righted himself in mid air and disappeared in a flash of green light. Sonic instantly went on the alert, well aware that with chaos control Shadow could pop right out of nowhere to spring his next attack. But Shadow seemed to be forgetting, so could Sonic. Disappeared in his own green flash; everything went quiet for several moment, before Shadow closed his trap and Sonic and throw violently out of another warp, a hand pinning his neck down to the ground.

Kicking him in the stomach, Sonic forced the black hedgehog off him, before back flipping to his feet. Shadow rebounded of the side of a spire jutting out of the ARK's surface before coming back with a swinging punch. Sonic caught the intended blow with his left hand before counteracting it with a kick. Sonic caught the strike across his ribs and was sent spiralling down to the ground.

Regaining himself a second before he hit, the black and red hedgehog spun his entire body around, knocking Sonic's feet out from under him. Sonic almost fell over, then somersaulted forwards before smashing a punch directly into Shadow's face, smacking him hard against the metal ground. Shadow growled, pausing for a moment to wipe some blood away from the side of his mouth before he was on his feet again.

Sonic slammed a fist forward and Shadow blocked it but before he could retaliate, Sonic disappeared in a flash of green light and then reappeared behind him. Shadow shot back just in time to see a fast kick went flying through the air, a foot lodging itself directly into his face, knocking him to the ground. He tumbled across the surface of the colony before regaining control and flipping back to his feet. Angrily he wiped a small trail of blood away from his nose as Sonic reassumed a fighting position in front of him.

"Now that was low." He nearly spat as he rose to his feet, his fists clenching tightly by his sides. Chaos Control was Shadow's trick and he disliked anyone using it against him. Still, he did not regret his decision to teach it to Sonic. If anything, it only made this fight more interesting.

Flying forward Shadow threw a punch, that Sonic caught in one hand and then used his free arm to block a kick. Sonic somersaulted over his own head and walked on his hands, using his legs to smash a double kick into Sonic's chin before righting himself again.

Sonic quickly recovered began spinning his entire body around on one foot, the other legs held vertical. The attack smashed into Shadow's own body with the force of a tornado, a loud cracking sound ringing through the air as the side of Sonic's leg collided with Shadow' torso, breaking several of his ribs.

As if nothing had happened, Shadow just kept on fighting; catching Sonic's leg before it could do further damage and using the momentum to toss the blue hedgehog over his shoulder and directly into the ground. Before Sonic could rise, Shadow leapt up into the air and came down again hard on his back with his elbow.

Sonic refuse to give up that easily through. He tossed his head back hitting Shadow directly in the face, forcing the black and red hedgehog off him. While Shadow was for the moment stunned, the blue hedgehog back flipped and landed directly behind him.

Shadow reflexes turned out to be sharper than Sonic had imagined through for when he swung his fist forward the black and red hedgehog shot around and grabbed his arm an inch away from the side of his head. Sonic shot his other fist forward in desperation at that point.

Shadow slapped his punch aside before slamming a kick directly into his groin. Sonic cringed and staggered backwards before falling to his knees with wide eyes.

"No, **_that_** was low!" He managed to stutter, before flipping back to his feet. Shadow shuddered as he felt those broken ribs press against him, but concentrating his own built in source of chaos energy upon it soon solved that problem, the power accelerating the healing process to only a couple of moment. Still, that had drained his reserves quite a bit. It was now in his best interests to avoid injury like that again.

"All I want are answers Shadow." Sonic began very much out of breath. Perhaps Amy had been right, his long sleep had slowed his reflexes a little. He and Shadow had once been evenly matched. Now the black and Red Hedgehog had a slight edge in strength and speed.

"I already told you this isn't your concern." Shadow snapped angrily. "This will all be over soon anyway." Sonic blinked in confusion.

"Whatya mean?" Shadow didn't answer, instead he rushed forced slamming an elbow directly into Sonic's chest. The blue hedgehog gagged and staggered backwards, before whipping around to catch one of Shadow's kicks. "Why are we fighting Shadow, I thought we were on the same team?"

"We are." Was the black hedgehog's sharp reply, his red eyes focused straight at Sonic. "But right now you're in my way and I don't take too kindly to obstacles." Tearing his hands forward, Shadow fired a Chaos Spear attack at close range straight into the blue hedgehog's torso. Sonic took the whole attack head on and was blown straight across the surface of the ARK before impacting the side of a building; leaving a hedgehog shaped impression in the wall. "Do us both a favour and stay out of my way for the next few hours." Sonic collapsed to the ground, every limb felt like it had been beaten over and over again by a polo-mallet. But even so, he refused to let anyone see him beaten. With every ounce of willpower left in him and push his way to his feet.

"Not… a chance." Shadow blinked in surprise, apparently he hadn't counted on Sonic's utter stubbornness.

"Well that's you isn't it?" He asked with a slight smile, crossing his arms. " You're like a yo-yo. No matter how many times you go down, you just keep getting backup." his smile widened. "This is the first and only time I'm going to admit this Sonic; but I'm glad you're my rival." Sonic forged his own smirk. "We're so much alike and that makes us perfect sparing partners."

"But that still doesn't mean you're going to tell me what's going on I guess?" Sonic asked rhetorically. Shadow shook his head.

"I'll be done soon enough. Until then just try not to get yourself fin trouble." With that he was gone, disappearing into a green flash as Chaos Control took hold.

* * *

-

Fang dumped Metal Sonic's body won on the table with a relieved sigh. His remains had been surprisingly heavier than he first thought. Exactly how much had the robotic hedgehog weighed when he had been in one piece? He had been able to transport it away from the base and right to the meeting place, an abandoned building in the near deserted northern section of Station Square. Most of the city wad derelict now and nearly all of it's populace had fled.

"My complements Mr. Sniper." A raspy voice told him as his client stepped out of the shadows. He was a mobian, but of what kind Fang had yet to determine. His kept his face hidden from him behind an old theatrical mask. A wise precaution, considering Fang had a reputation for deceit, betrayal and murder. They met only in deserted alleyways and warehouses and always at the dead of night. "You do good work."

"I know." Was the flat unconcerned reply from the Weasel. "My services are valued by many. Speaking of value, it's time to settle the little matter of my fee." Fang was a lot of things, but cheap was not one of them. The mobian chuckled and gestured briefly behind him. Instantly a light in another section of their meeting place lit up; highlighted a large silver suitcase, which he handed directly to Fang. One could almost see dollar signs in the weasel's eyes as he opened it, nearly drooling over the crisp newly printed bills. "Pleasure doing business with you sir." He added, shutting the case again, tugging down his hat and leaving his temporary employer behind.

The mobian didn't even notice Fang leave. He was too busy examining the fallen remains of the robotic hedgehog with glee. Finally, he had in his hands the instrument he required to set his plans in motion.

He raised a hand, passing briefly into the light; showing his fur was a pale yellow and his limb hardly had any muscle on it at all. It was just skin covering bone. With a flash, a bolt of green energy leapt from between his fingers and struck the fallen remains, bathing the metallic corpse in an unearthly neon glow. Unconceivable words began to utter themselves forth from his mouth as slowly the remains began to twitch. Slowly at first but as time progressed the movements became more and more distinctive until this bizarre glow had them like a puppet on a string. Willed back into place, Metal Sonic's body slowly rebuilding itself piece by piece, any parts that had been destroyed just seemed to re-grow out of nothing; all the pieces twisting around until they made one whole.

"Ah, good." He said to himself once the process was complete and Metal Sonic lay there complete once more. While Fang's immediate concern was money; the Weasel was not a fool. He stayed outside the door to the building, watching through a small crack as his client employed some strange hocus pocus to repair the damaged robot. He had had his suspicions about his client from day one, but did nothing about them. Now that money had been exchanged, his curiosity finally forced him to investigate.

This piece of information was interesting. Interesting, but not profitable. Fang's last encounter with anyone wielding magic had been less than enjoyable. They had enslaved his mind; making him their puppet. Using him as a tool in some grand plan that, luckily for him, had blown up in their faces.

He swallowed hard, those memories coming back to him in a moment of intense fear. It was time to leave, to get as far away from this madness as physically possible.

* * *

The colony was filled to the brim with fighting angels and robots, all clashing for dominance. Chaos ruled and destruction was not far behind. In these situations, Amy's spiked hammer proved invaluable. It took some doing but eventually they all managed to bypass the mass majority of the fighting to enter the science labs. From here, Amy could see the classing armies in far more detail. They were all angels and they fought like a medieval army with swords, shields and bows; the occasional spark of magic flashing through the air.

To their surprise, the lab itself was not deserted when they arrived. Watching the battle from above was a small creature no talker than Cream. It's feminine shape identified it as a she. Slowly it turned to face them. It was dressed in a tight fitting white suit with holes in the back for a pair of insect like wings could emerge. Her eyes were a deep blue with sparking centres like stars.

Quickly she shot around, a silver spear tight in her grasp. Seeing them she faltered.

"You're not any of Void's traitors." She stated sounding a little surprised. "Who are you?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing!" Knuckles stated, brandishing a large fist in her direction.

"Oh put it away." Rouge said, slapping his arm down. The Echidna who usually argued at every given opportunity let his arms drop to his sides. "We are here hunting a criminal called Eggman, I take it you know something about this battle." The fairy like creature sighed and lowered her spear.

"Yes I do." He stated almost reluctantly. "But first, exactly who are you?" Once introductions were out of the way the small female revealed herself as Lumina Flowlight, warrior of the light of Illumina.

"Illumina?" Tails repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Who is…" The small creature looked at him with wide shocked eyes.

"You honestly don't know?"

"Never heard of her." Knuckles replied, who was quickly loosing patience with this situation. Lumina looked absolutely stunned.

"That's impossible. Illumina is worshiped in every dimension."

"Not in ours." The Red Echidna added. "Are we done talking?" He asked flexing his arms impatiently. There was something about a complex situation that made him as eager for a fight as Sonic always was.

"Heal-boy." Rouge told him, patting him lightly on the head.

"Just what is all this?" Amy asked. "Whose are all those guys?" She added, pointing past the windows to the clashing angels. "And what are they fighting for?"

"It's a long and complex story." Lumina began unsteadily.

"And I think it's about to get a whole lot more complex." Tails stated, pointing off away from the battle. Everyone followed his gaze to see a large object came floating towards the ARK, barging it's way through a large cluster of asteroids. A giant battleship with two large winds on either side, an entire forest of turrets on its underside and a gigantic cannon concealed within it's triangular front. The Egg Carrier had taken longer to reach the ARK than expected. Eggman had been pushing its engines very hard and one of them had blown out, leaving the entire ship travelling only at half speed.

"Dr. Eggman, I think you should have a look at this." Becoe announced and almost at once Eggman was looking over his shoulder. The Egg Carrier 3's sensors had picked up a massive clash of two armies just outside the ARK. His own forces, the ones he had left behind the guard the colony had been completely decimated, they weren't reading any robots left at all.

"Just what is this?" Eggman demanded angrily.

"It looks like two armies sir." Decoe replied. Eggman sat down forcefully in his seat, his fingers digging into the metal arm rest.

"Open fire!"

"But sir, shouldn't we try outside the perimeter to see what's going on?"

"I don't care about that. Just get them off that colony!"

On the understand of the Egg Carrier large machine gun turrets began to descend, all primed and ready to fire. The clashing angels were too occupied with each other to even to even notice and Sonic could see it. From one of the ARK's outside stations he had a front row seat to the fighting.

He didn't know what this fight was all about, but he couldn't let Eggman decimate them all. Gathering his energy, he fired a Sonic Wind from the ARK itself directly at the space between the battle and the Egg Carrier, the swirling blue energy smashing directly into a passing asteroid. The blast itself wasn't too destructive, but it did make a lot of noise, which nearly every angel fighting heard. For a comment they all stopped as stared as the giant Battleship began looming over them.

Beating their wings, they scrambled in every direction narrowly avoiding a deadly barrage of bullets from the Egg Carrier.

* * *

-

By the time Chris and Chuck made it back to Rome it was late. Most of the streets were empty and the only sounds coming from the city was the distant blaring of police sirens off in the distance.

Chuck had gotten more out this trap than he was counting on. Toriyama, the archaeologist back at the excavation sight had told them to go to the address on the piece of paper he had given them in haste. It was the address of an apartment building something in the cities north side.

"Hello…" Chuck began, knocking on a shabby looking door after they'd climbed several flights of stairs. He'd left Chris back at the hotel where they were staying. He suspected this things where going to get more dangerous before too long and he didn't want his only grandson in harms way. There was no answer at the door. "Anyone home?" A moment of silence endured before a small slot in the door opened up and a pair of brown eyes stared out.

"What do you want?" The heavy Italian accent demanded.

"Are you Andre'?" Chuck asked. The eyes studied the old man's features carefully for a moment.

"And if I am?" He asked. Chuck reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a piece of paper.

"Toriyama asked me to give you this…" Before he could even finish the sentence the door flew open as a man quickly pulled him inside, instantly locking the door behind them.

"I can't afford to have them following you back here!" He hissed angrily, putting several latches on the floor.

"And who are 'them'?" If this was Andre he was a tall and thin man in his early thirties with a pair of glasses and a pony tail, a constantly worried look on his face. His apartment was amazingly small, only two rooms with a small TV set on corner and a few piece of shabby furniture dotted around. A good deal of old newspapers had been piled up in one corner

"They keep Toriyama at the dig sight now, they paid him serious money to excavate something and then when he found what they were looking for; they started threatening him, telling him to keep his mouth shut."

"Who?" Chuck asked again.

"I've said too much already." Andre' replied and with shaking hands turned to a table, taking up a pen and a piece of paper, writing a reply to the coded note Chuck had given him. "I don't know if I can trust you. Take this back to Toriyama." Then he proceeded to shove Chuck out the door, locking it as soon as he past the threshold.

* * *

Word had only just made it to London that an enemy Mech had been sighted in the south. A good deal of reinforcements had been dispatched to deal with the problem, leaving the defences around the south gate to the city rather stretched. Still, things had been quiet here so trouble wasn't expected.

Guards at the gate peered through the rain to see a small convoy of laser tanks approaching the gates from up the road, two large Dreadnaughts acting as escorts. The convoy was not on time. They were told to expect its arrival over ten minutes ago. It wasn't like any of Dr. Eggman's robots to be late.

"That convoy should have been here ages ago." Their commander told them. "What's their excuse for the delay?" After a brief transmission to the head Dreadnaught, the reply came back.

"Looks like an explosion in the middle of the road slowed them down. Still, their transmitted security codes turned out to be fine." The commander, a tall man clad in a grey uniform with black body armour and helmet simply snorted in annoyance.

"Fine let them through. I've got better things to do than waste my time with this." With an audible groaning the doors slid to one side and the convoy was admitted to the rest of the city. The Dreandnaughts marched in first, followed by the tanks with the badniks taking up the rear.

"I can't believe they're falling for this." Bean commented as he watched through small silt in the side of the tank he, Bark and Hare were hiding inside. They had delayed the convoy by using Bean's explosives as a decoy while Bark commandeered one of the tanks. After that, they simply stayed inside and followed the convoy northwards as it made its way towards London. So far, this Trojan Horse plan of the Major's was working perfectly.

"Keep quiet." Hare told him as he watched a Dreadnaught pass within listening distance of their tank, the ground shaking with each massive footstep. Hare's resentment of Bean and Bark for landing him right in the middle of this extremely difficult situation was more than apparent. It stopped for a moment beside their vehicle and turned it's large metallic head to face them. Hare's throat went as dry as a desert in seconds. The search light on the shoulders of the metal behemoth turned on and white rays began lancing through into the tank itself.

"What's it doing?" Bean asked as quietly as he could.

"It's scanning the tanks registration number." Bark replied. "Now quiet!" The robot stayed still for a moment, before the light turned off and it continued it's marsh away from them.

"What the…" Hare began, looking out the front. The city had undergone a lot of change since their last visit. Evidentially, Eggman was a fast builder. Towering over the city were strongholds the likes of which they had never seen before. Mechanical constructs that made anything G.U.N could ever come up with pale in comparison and more were being built all the time. Whoever Eggman had left in charge here was concentrating on turning the entire city into a walled fortress and they weren't doing to badly.

The tanks were to reinforce the garrison in the centre of the city. A lot of troops had been deployed to the south so it needing a booster. Bean however had other plans for them. While they had stopped in the road to inspect his handwork, not only had his friends commandeered one of them, but he managed to successful install a fe explosives on the underside of each one.

He had the remote detonator with him now. But now wasn't the right time to start the fireworks. Only when they needed a big distraction would he activate them but for now at least things had to remain quiet.

Most of the captured civilian population had been turned into cheap slave labour, working under supervision of badniks to help the city function. Some of them were even being whipped.

"No not yet." Bean told Hare when he saw the utterly disgusted look on his face; anticipating that he was just about to leap out of the tank to take on the entire occupying forces himself. "We'll do more for these people by taking out that artillery."

"Yeah I know." he sighed. "It's just as a Brit, this don't sit too well with me."

"Technically you were born on Mobius." Bark added, his hands on the gears that worked the tank. Quickly driving it down a wide alley away from the rest of the convoy before their luck ran out as the security forces notice them.

"Let's not spilt hairs." The rabbit like mobian told him with level eyes.

"Was that a joke?"

* * *

Flip Card 1:

Name: ARK

Age: Over fifty years


	12. Episode 6, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

* * *

Flip card 2:

Name: Egg Carrier 3

Age: A year

* * *

0

Sonic had gone and injured his own pride by getting lost on the ARK, which admittedly was not hard to do, it was half the size of the moon and interwoven with a maze of corridors and metal chambers. At first he had been looking for Shadow again, but that quest was quickly abandoned when he discovered he'd been going in circles for the last few minutes.

Shadow knew this colony inside and out and was probably long gone. So now Sonic was set on a more realistic quest, trying to find his way back to the others so together they could make sense out of this whole situation.

Eventually the blue hedgehog wandered out from a passageway straight to a metal catwalk on the underside of the ARK, from this vantage point he could see the two clashing angelic armies. Despite the vicious fighting and the presence of the Egg Carrier neither side showed any signs of backing down. They were attacking each other almost fanatically and the streams of bullets from the ship nearby did little to slow them down.

The catwalk lead out from the colony itself to a platform hanging above, or below depending on the point of view, a large pit in the surface of the ARK. Sonic couldn't have even guessed by this facility had been a mining facility. The asteroid the ARK had been carved and built out of had been full of rich materials and much of that had been mined out to further the colonies construction.

The platform was oval shaped and flat, apart from curved edges around the side, a large metal circle standing directly in the centre. Sonic decided to stop here for a moment to get his bearings, not there was anything to get his bearings from. Nothing on this colony looked familiar and the last time he was here he'd been a little too busy to take note of anything he could use for exploration later.

Right now, his own feelings of helplessness was being to gnaw at him and what he really needed apart from anything else was something to punch.

There was a loud thud and Sonic shot around to see Metal Knuckles, one of Doctor Eggman's best robots standing behind him with glowing red eyes; its large claws already held up ready for a fight.

Sonic cracked his knuckles, a large smile on his face.

"That'll do." He said to himself as Metal Knuckles swung a spiked fist forward. Sonic dodged around the swing and contour attacked with his own kick, landing a solid blow against the side of the robotic Echidna. Metal Knuckles staggered backwards a few steps before leaping forward this time with both claws ready for a swing. His attack never reached home. Sonic simply disappeared around his side with a well placed kick, knocking his opponent's feet out from under him.

There was a loud thump from behind him and Sonic shot back around just in time to see Theta raise his double barrelled flamethrowers directly towards him. Leaping out of the way, Sonic narrowly avoided being roasts, the pillars of fire hitting Metal Knuckles instead.

Spiralling in the air, Sonic gathered up his energy for firing a Sonic wind through the air; the spinning blue vortex hitting Theta directly in the chest; sending the last of the E1000 flying to the edge of the platform.

The clicking of a gun caught the blue hedgehog's attention and he ducked to avoid a blast from the laser rifle held by Egg Robo who was hovering a short distance away. Taking on all three of Eggman's elite robots at one time had not been his original plan but if it helped with his training, the more robots the merrier.

Spinning his entire body around, Sonic reflected any further laser attack away from himself before counterattacking with a super spin. Egg Robo stepped to the side to avoid the blow, but wasn't fast enough to contour as Sonic hit on the rebound. Theta raised both barrels again and fired more flames; these managed to char-grill the end of Sonic's quills. "Hey, you know how long these take each morning?" He asked irritated, before dodging a swing from a crispy Metal Knuckles.

Blocking each of the robotic Echidna's blows, Sonic slapped his claws aside just long enough to come across his face with a swift kick. Metal Knuckles doubled over as the blow took effect and Sonic jumped over his shoulders, took hold of his head in mid air and tossed him straight at Egg Robo who was attempting another sniper attack. The two robots collided, sending them both falling off the side of the platform.

Sonic turned, ducked under a stream of fire from Theta before racing in to get close. He knew that the E1000's weakness was close range combat and he intended to exploit that weakness.

It seems however that Eggman had updated Theta some time ago. A secondary set of robotic arms came lancing out of his mid section armed with a curved sabre like blade. Sonic dodged backwards nearly having his stomach slashed open. The new limbs did little to hinder the abilities of the old ones and Sonic found himself dodging both folded steel and fire and Theta came after him with both barrels blazing.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Egg Robo came hovering back up to ground level again with Metal Knuckles hanging onto his legs. Just was the robotic Echidna was about to take a leap at Sonic with his claws outstretch, a red blur passed before him as a large fist smashed itself directly into the robot's chest.

Sonic looked back to see Knuckles himself hammer another few good punches to his robotic counterpart, before dodging a swing from Egg Robo and tossing Metal Knuckles over his shoulders.

"Just where have you been?" The red Echidna asked Sonic as the blue hedgehog joined his side.

"Just needed a word with an old friend of ours." He replied before somersaulting over Theta and smashing a kick into his back. It seemed while Eggman had strengthened the robots ability for close range combat, he had left his rear relatively unprotected. Getting behind him to launch attacks was no chore. Eggman had increased Theta's weight with his updates making him far heavier than he used to be and thus much slower.

Knuckles turned to confront his Metal counterpart.

"Remember me?" He asked rhetorically, flexing his arms as the two of them circled each other. Metal Knuckles didn't reply, he just leapt at the red Echidna with his laws drawn back. Catching both arms with his large hands, Knuckles lifted his metal version up into the air and smashed his body down onto the floor.

Metal Knuckles contoured by rolling to the side, somersaulting back to his feet and slashing Knuckles across the side of his leg, making him stagger backwards and it was then Metal Knuckles went on the attack. Getting within the red Echidna's defences with his claws, desperately hacking away at his organic template.

Sonic grabbed Theta by the shoulders and spun in mid air, gathering momentum before tossing the robot through the air to collide with Metal Knuckles. The two robots collapsed into a big heap on the floor.

"You ok?" Sonic called over as Knuckles paused to catch his breath. He's been able to block of dodge most of Metal Knuckles' most deadly swings but a good few had nicked him here and there.

"Fine." He muttered, before a faint glint of light caught his attention. "Sonic look out!"

"Huh?" Sonic looked back just in time to see Egg Robo pointing the barrel of his laser rifle directly towards him, preparing to another sniper shot. "Woah!" He cried, slipping underneath the beam at the last second. Egg Robo raised his rifle to fire again but just as his finger tightened around the trigger, Rouge came up behind him in mid air and smashed one of her infamous kicks, sending him spinning around in mid air.

"Hello boys, you didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun?" Rouge asked coyly, landing effortlessly next to Knuckles.

"You have a strange definition of the word _'fun'_." Knuckles replied before slamming a fist into the side of Theta, causing the large robot to stagger backwards, a large fist shaped dent in its chest-plate.

"I have a strange definition?" The she- bat began innocently with wide eyes. "You're the one who's content to stay on a flying island for the rest of his life."

"Can you save this discussion for later?" Sonic asked, dodging several punches from Metal Knuckles before counter attacking with a lightning fast kick. The robot staggered backwards, its eyes glowing bright red before he lunged forwards again, grabbing Sonic by the arm and slamming him into the ground. Sonic rebound and with Metal Knuckles still hanging on, spun himself around in a fast spin, sending the robotic Echidna flying over the side of the platform. "Got cha!" He declared in triumph, only to have Metal Knuckles steal the victory from him. Theta hadn't been the only robot Eggman had upgraded in the last few days. A pair of rockets flared to life on Metal Knuckles feet, preventing the machine from falling. Swing his claws around, the robot turned to face Sonic with glowing red eyes. "Oh." Sonic began, before hitting the deck as Metal Knuckles flew over him, nearly slicing his body with his large talons.

Dodging back, Sonic slid between it's swings before landing a punch directly against the robotic Echidna's chest plate, forcing it backwards toward the edge. Sonic kept up the melee, using his speed to land a succession of punches against the large bracers before swinging a kick around. This attack stunned Metal Knuckles just long enough to for Sonic to bring his hands forward and fire the swirling blue vortex called Sonic Wind at close range straight into his body. The sheer magnitude of the attack tore Metal Knuckles from the ground and sent it flying high up towards the colony.

The Robotic Echidna slammed violently against the side of the ARK before falling limply downwards and disappearing completely.

Egg Robo, still hovering in the air at the distance raised his rifle and began taking more sniper shots at them, firing over three shots every five seconds. Knuckles was by no means as fast as Sonic and the robots constant pot shots were beginning to annoy him. He ducked over a torrent of flames from Theta before gliding off the platform and sinking his spurs into the soft metal of a nearby structure, quickly advancing up towards the ARK itself. Egg Robo was too preoccupied trying to hit Sonic to notice him and by the time his sensors picked up anything it was far too late.

Knuckles lunged away from the ARK and football tackled Egg Robo out of the air, using his own weight to throw him violently back down to the platform. The manoeuvre would have taken Egg Robo out of the picture entirely, had the intelligence thinking machine spun them around at the last second so Knuckles was on the bottom.

Taking the worst of the fall Knuckles was slammed hard against the platform surface and all Egg Robo had to do to get up again was roll back to its feet. Taking hold of his' rifle again, he raised its barrel and prepared to finish Knuckles off. Rouge kicked the weapon out of his hands before slamming a kick with the other leg directly into his face, knocking him side ways. Egg Robo staggered back towards the edge of the platform and swayed there for a moment.

"Four!" Sonic cried, going into a spin in one place for a moment and then flying forward, smashing his attack directly into the robot, sending him flying off the edge and disappearing into the darkness.

Knuckles pushed himself to his knees, angry with himself for making that kind of mistake. Standing up, he tore around and slammed two fists directly into Theta's flame throwers, blocking them up completely with dented metal. The pressure inside them built up quickly and in that next instantly they exploded, sending the heavy robot flying off the edge.

From the windows high above on the colony itself, Tikal watched the three of them take on the three of Eggman's best robots. This situation was widely spinning out of control and Void was at the very centre of it all. She had to talk to Shadow; maybe he could shed a light on the details of this whole mess.

"Metal Knuckles, Theta come in!" Eggman yelled won the com signal, trying to locate his Elite robots after he had deployed them to remove any and all hostiles from the ARK. A few moments ago the Egg Carrier 3 had lost contact with their radar signals. Eggman;s forces were stretched out beyond their limits already and he could not afford to loose his three best robots. In frustration he pressed a red button marked "emergency recall." This was a teleportation device that transported all three of his robots back to the repair depo onboard. "Alright, that is it." He mused to himself, angrily taking back his seat at the back of the bridge. "I've had enough, prepare the cannon for firing procedures."

"Aye sir." Becoe began, throwing a large lever and a few switches. The engines of the Egg Carrier hummed, sending as much energy as it could spare to the large cannon directly at the front of the ship.

* * *

-

0

0-

From here, Shadow could see most of the colony. All the way from the shuttle bays to the research zone, with the earth framing it in the background. This view always seemed to calm him down, now matter how mad he saw when he arrived.

Void was beginning to push his luck. If this business wasn't over in the hour, then Shadow was going to drive EVERYONE out. Void didn't think he could or would, but then again Void didn't know him very well.

He was well aware of the fact that someone had entered the room, but since he could tell that person had no intention of attacking him he let them approach. He simply stood there with his arms crossed, staring patiently out of the window.

Whoever it was actually stood beside him and shared his view. He gave whoever it was a momentary side glance and out to some surprise that it was Tikal, the girl he had seen in the ancient past, the one who tried desperately to stop her people from making the biggest mistake of their lives in attacking the Emerald shrine.

It occurred to him that he should be shocked to find her here after he was well aware that she had been sealed inside the Master Emerald to keep Chaos in check, but he didn't. Shadow had seen enough weird stuff to believe just about anything was possible.

"You still blame yourself for her death?" Shadow snorted at that remark she made without even looking up at him. That was no secret; even the dense Sonic had enough brains to realize that.

"And what if I do?" He replied stubbornly. "If I choose to remember Maria in my own way there's little you or anyone else can do to stop me." Tikal managed a smile, the kind of smile the black and red hedgehog would expect from Sonic.

"You're arrogant Shadow." That bit deep. Shadow had had no reason to be humble in any way shape or form. Humble was a word used by those quacking in fear of a god. He was a being created by science and technology, no god held sway over him so he could afford to be slightly confident of himself. Confident, by hardly arrogant; at least he wouldn't think so. "Have you ever tried a little thing called live and let live?" He shot her one long glance over his shoulder, giving her a look that forced a chill down her spine.

"I can rid myself of anger and hatred, but nothing could ever make me forget what happened here fifty years ago nor could anything make me forgive those responsible." Tikal levelled her eyes.

"How sad, you're trapped in the past. A slave to your own history." It was not so much the words that infuriated Shadow but rather the meaning behind them. She was implying it was time for him to let go, to forget, to move on. That was the one thing he could not do. The memories were both too painful and too joyous for him to ever consider letting go. "Fifty years is a long time Shadow."

"Not nearly long enough." Was the steely reply. His words were as solid as a rock, but in his eyes she could see the unending pain in his soul. The rage had gone and only the sadness remained. He did a good job of hiding it from most people, but she could see through his façade easily enough. Her words alone would not be able to reach him, but still she had to try something.

No one, not even the Ultimate Life-form could remain bound by grief forever.

"Is she all you grieve over?" She asked, putting together some verbal plan that might work. "Perhaps the reason is not so much her demise as the pain her grandfather endured during his madness?" Shadow didn't move but she saw one of his eyes twitch as more memories passed before him.

Captured by G.U.N, his granddaughter dead and his life's work in ruins Prof. Gerald went into utter insanity. It was in this state that he reprogrammed Shadow to hate the Earth and its people in an attempt to destroy them all. Still, it had not been him who was to blame for that, it the voices in the darkness that whispered to him, even while he slept.

Then Shadow hid his soul from her and turned to face the female Echidna completely, that flat emotionless expression pressed like concrete into his face. For a moment he looked like he was going to reply, but then sighing he turned back.

"Do you get some sadistic pleasure in playing mind games?" The black and red hedgehog grumbled.

"Little point really." She said with a shrug. "Your mind is a tangled mess of pain, hatred and rage, as is your heart. I couldn't play with it any more than it already has been." Believing turn about was fair play, Shadow came up with a retort.

"Of course you're no stranger to pain and hatred, are you?" He asked her almost slyly, she looked up with a confused look on her face. "Your people worshiped an evil deity who in the end betrayed them and they paid the price for their stupidity. You tried everything you could to stop their aggressive ways but in the end all your efforts were in vain. Chaos rose up and overwhelmed first their armies and then their entire civilisation." His words put the familiar sting of tears in her eyes but she refused to let any fall. If she did, Shadow would win this little contest of character. "I lost only two people close to me, you however had your family and friends, an entire race destroyed before your very eyes. And all because your father put more credibility in blind faith rather then his own daughter."

"That was cold." She remarked trying not to hint at any emotion whatsoever.

"So was talking about **_my_** losses." He replied, unfolding his arms. "Now let's get to what you actually want here? Only idiots come to me intending to try and strike at my heart with tales of woe." Tikal managed another smile, although this one was not as wide more as heartfelt as those before had been. Which for some strange reason made Shadow regret his perhaps hasty words.

"You struck me as a great dealer wisher than getting involved in the politics of Maginaryworld." She told him, putting her arms behind her head.

"Personally I don't care who beats who becomes what or whichever." Shadow retorted with sigh. "Void can win or lose, means nothing to me."

"Then why help him?"

"Because I owe him a favour." Shadow did not sound entirely enthusiastic went he added that last part and Tikal was instantly suspicious. Shadow was not someone bound by the same code of moral honour as most "heroes" were and put little value in moral obligations. Still, she said nothing about it.

"He's a good enough strategist though." The black and red hedgehog added in remark looking out at the battlefield. By now it was become obvious that those angels in crystallised like armour were beginning to overwhelm the others, driving them further and further away from the colony. "Looks like's he's almost won."

"But is that a good thing?" Tikal asked. Shadow shrugged.

"Don't know don't care."

"You will if he decides he wants to keep this colony."

"At that point our contact becomes invalid." The black hedgehog told her sharply, no hint of bragging in his voice. "And no army in the world could keep me from his throat."

"Remember what I said about arrogance." She told him coyly. Shadow actually laughed. That stunned Tikal, she hadn't thought him capable.

"Whoever said I was being arrogant, more like realistic." He smacked a fist into an open palm suggestively.

"Be nice." She murmured and then a large smile crossed her lips. "You're more like Sonic then you'd care to admit." Shadow narrowed his eyes, implying that that was the worst insult she'd come up with thus far. Sonic was loud, self opinionated and had an inflated ego. Shadow on the other hand was quiet, cold and calculating. A good deal more intelligent than Sonic as well, Shadow didn't rub his face in it that often. It was undeniable that they did have certain similarities in more than just appearance. But that still didn't make it easy to admit.

Perhaps it was that similarity that allowed the two of them to merge into Nazo, perhaps not.

"Shadow, a word if you may." Void's voice told him inside the reaches of his mind. He shuddered involuntarily. Did he have to use telepathy? Shadow found the intrusion a tad more than irritating.

"What is it now?" He asked, sending the thought inwards.

"Come to my device. I need you help."

"I've been giving you enough help Void."

"One last thing, and then you may consider the debt you owe me repaid." With that he was gone. This had better be the last thing, Shadow's patience was beginning to dwindle. Sighing he turned and made his way towards the door.

"Void keeping you on a short leash?" Tikal asked over her shoulder.

"No one keeps me on any sort of leash…" Shadow replied in an unfriendly tone before disappeared in mid-stride.

* * *

(In Chris' voice)

This is insane! Is Shadow really on Void's side or what? And speaking of Void, his plans are about to come to fruition as his nemasis arrives. See what happens next time on Sonic X, the Tribunal of Illumina. Don't miss it!


	13. Episode 7

(I do not own Sonic X…)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO! 

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO, LET'S GO!

Episode 7: The Tribunal of Illumina

* * *

"This had better be good." Shadow snapped arriving at Void's orbiting crystallised device out of Chaos Control. The interior of the device reminded him very much of the layout of Radiant Emerald with columns of emerald like pillars stretching up towards a very high ceiling. Exactly what it did and what it was for were a complete mystery to Shadow. This was a strange form of technology that he was not familiar with. Void however seemed to understand it well enough. 

"Good depends completely on your definition." Void replied flatly, hovering over a strange outcrop of claw like shards, controlling the device with his very willpower it seemed. His hands outstretched over the crystals, a pale green glow pulsating between them. "So far my plans are working perfectly. My enemy's army has been routed and my own forces are driving them back. Soon **she** will have no choice but to leave her home dimension to fight herself."

"That still doesn't explain why you wanted me here." Shadow stated impatiently tapping his fingers along his arm. Void managed a smile.

"Just one last thing needs to be taken care of, and then it becomes a waiting game." He hovered aside to reveal the centre of the device, a large pillar of pale white light that lanced from the floor to the ceiling. Several claw like arches ran around the outside edge of the floor all curved inwards. Floating directly in the centre of the light was a Chaos Emerald; glowing a pale grey light. "The Chaos Emerald can keep my device operating, but to unlock the energy I require I'll be needing it's power completely unleashed; I think a small Chaos Control should do it." Shadow scowled as him as walked forward, holding an arm out in front of himself as his own energy connected with the emerald. His entire hand glowed bright green for an instant and with a quick flash chaos energy erupted forth from the emerald and began lancing up the entire device to the high ceiling, quietly burning a pale grey.

"There done." Shadow muttered. "Favour returned." He added sharply with a side glance at Void before turning back the way he'd come.

"Not staying for the show?" The small creature asked with folded arms, a smug smile on his face.

"I already told you I couldn't care less who wins what." Void just sighed shaking his head.

"You might as well stick around and enjoy the performance. If my calculations are correct, she should be emerging in this dimension any minute…" He paused in mid sentence looking up towards the ceiling with piercing eyes. ."Now."

The light came like a second sun, burning brighter than any star as the porthole opened. The two of them looked up, watching the light through the near transparent walls of Void's device.

Shadow shielded his eyes with his hand, staring up at the light with curiosity.

"What is that?" He asked. Void rubbed his hands together.

"That's the signal for the show to begin." Shadow blinked and looked up again. The light was dying away now an the edges of a round hole in space itself could be see and emerging through that hole came a blurred shape. Then as time passed the shape became humanoid, then feminine with several pairs of angel likes wings sprouting out it's back. Then finally she emerged, ruler of Maginary World. Queen Illumina herself. Shadow's jaw dropped and he staggered backwards. Even Void's descriptions had not prepared him for anything quite like this.

Illumina was gigantic, even rivalling the Egg Carrier in size. Her eyes were a bright sea blue and sparked with a millions stars within. Her flawless skin was faint purple, line blue lines running down her arms and legs like tattoos. Her face was very much like Void's, rounded with no nose and large oval eyes. Her hair was a pale brown and lowed behind her like a private waterfall, all her wings gently folded behind her. The Angel's entire presence was engulfed in power the likes of which Shadow had never felt before. Only Nazo came close to rivalling the energy he could feel radiating away from this giant.

"I don't think you can defeat something like that." The black and red hedgehog commented turning back to Void.

"If things go according to plan I won't need to." Was the small creatures reply. Shadow raised en eyebrow questioningly. It was about then he realized that Void had told him very little to his actual plans. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. You have done all I require of you, the rest is up to me and me alone. Go, get to ARK. If things go wrong at least you won't be within firing range." Shadow hesitated, before nodding and disappearing in a faint green mist as Chaos Control took him away.

"What on earth is that?" Eggman demanded, jabbing a finger at the giant angel now directly in the centre of the battlefield. The Egg Carrier had pulled away from the fighting so it could attack from a distance and now his sensors were showing this latest introduction to the chaos encircling the colony.

_"I don't know Doctor, the sensors register the power reading from it as off the scale."_ Becoe replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

_"Best not get to close, I'll pull us away." _Decoe added, his mechanical hands running over the controls.

"That's a negative." Eggman stated, narrowing his eyes. "Take us in closer. I want to know exactly what that is!" On his command the Egg Carrier's engines blared into life and the giant battleship began to fly closer, using it's sheer bulk to barge it's way through towards the Angel. Illumina herself however seen to have other ideas; her blue eyes began to glow bright blue before two beams of energy leapt forwards coursing through space to collide with devastating force against the side of the Egg Carrier, carving a large hole down the side of the ship. Molten fragments of metal blasted off the side.

"Woah momma!" Sonic and Knuckles exclaimed at the same time as they watched from the ARK as the Egg Carrier began falling towards the Earth, smoke leaking out into space as it descended, settling into a lower orbit around the planet.

"Ok, now this is just getting weird." Sonic commented, staring up at the giant angel above them. Her glow bathing the entire colony in a white light.

"That must be Illumina." Knuckles began in awe, his arms dropping to his sides.

"Illumin…who?" Sonic asked, but it was about then that his brain started working again and he remembered the name. Illumina was the angel Void had been fighting a civil war with in his home dimension. Tikal had not exactly described her in great detail.

At this display of power, the angels loyal to her escaped their fighting with the rebels and flew to gather around their mistress, feeling safe in her presence.

Shadow emerged out of Chaos Control directly on the top of the ARK. Now was the moment of truth for the. If Void's plan, whatever it was, worked then this madness could end right here and now.

"That's Illumina?" Tails began in utter disbelief. Lumina nodded; a worried look on her face. If her mistress had left Maginary world that could only mean one thing, that she intended to end this matter herself once and for all. Void may be a rebel, but he was still her friend -maybe more than that- and she didn't want to she him hurt, or worse.

"Get me a damage report!" Eggman screamed, desperately trying to regain control of the situation, wild sparks flying around the control room of the Egg Carrier. The red alert alarm blaring across the entire ship, half the decks sealed off as many of the ships robotic crew had been sucked out through the gaping hole in the side of one of their wings.

_"Propulsion out, weapons out, life support at 50 percent and falling." _Becoe replied, desperately trying to wrest control of the ship back from the chaos.

* * *

0 

0

It soon became obvious that taking the tank in further into the city would not be possible, not if they wanted to remain undiscovered. Ditching the vehicle in a back alley, Bean and Dynamite Duck, Bark the Polar Bear and Hare proceeded on foot to the high security area surrounding the tower they were here to demolish. Standing like a titan out of the Thames River was the towering metallic monstrosity that served as Eggman's four point's artillery. At the top of the tower were four cannons on each side of a cube, capable of firing large artillery shells in four directions at once. It was this defensive system that was keeping an invasion of the nation from being successful. It was their mission to take it out so the forces waiting in France could make a start.

Unfortunately, sneaking into the high security section looked near impossible. A large gate with a metal grating door stood directly in the middle of the street, two large Dreadnaughts standing to attention outside. From the shadows, Bark watched a truck approach the door. Two sets of light lanced out from the Dreadnaughts, highlighting the vehicle as it stopped and the driver handed a clip board with his creditable to a Badnik standing by. The android scanned the documentation, before gesturing to the larger robots, two shuffled to each side as the door swung open.

Briefly the idea of climbing over the roof tops passed through his mind, but that was quickly dismissed when he saw the large manned machine gun turrets standing on the roofs of either building on either side. Sneaking around the gate was out as well. They'd managed to erect a twenty floor tall with barbed wire running around the top. Any attempt to scale that wall would be disastrous.

"We were only here about a week ago." Hare began in a mixture of awe and disgust. "How did they get this city to change this much?" Bark put his fore finger and thumb to his chin.

"Remember the hole in the moon after the Eclipse Cannon? Eggman managed to patch it up in just over ten minutes. He must be used some form of nano-technolgy we haven't seen yet."

"Nano...?" Bean began with a raised eyebrow.

"Microscopic robots that all work together." Hare explained. "Working like a colony of ants, nano-bots can theoretically build anything in less then have the time it would take to do without them." Bean's questioning expression didn't change.

"Look, let's save the theories for later." Bark added; turning back as the large gate closed after the truck, the two robots standing back in their earlier positions. "Right now let's just concentrate on getting through that checkpoint."

"I could distract the guard with one of these." Bean suggesting, holding up on of his old fashioned round explosives with a large grin. Hare rolled his eyes.

"It amazes me how you keep coming up with new ways to get us killed." The duck looked puzzled.

"We don't want any explosives to go off until we reach the tower." Bark reminded him. "We start blowing things up left right and centre, we risk revealing to the entire city that we're here." Bean quickly stuffed the explosive back into his bag.

"The tank won't fit down the street." Hare commented, noting that the size of the road was a great dealer smaller than the others. That was partly the reason they left it to proceed on foot. "So I think we're just going to have to drive in there in another vehicle." Bark shook his head.

"That driver in the truck showed paperwork to that badnik, and we don't have the time or the means to acquire either the real thing or a copy."

"Alright fine, so how the hell do we get in then?"

"Give me a minute." Bark began sharply, tapping his foot as he ran several ideas through his head. It occurred to Hare that Bark had always been the brains of the Duck and Polar Bear duo. Bark was cautious and calculating while Bean was trigger happy and ever so slightly dense. Hare considered himself to be somewhere in the middle of the two.

"Sewers again?" The rabbit like mobian queried with a sigh. Bark looked around expecting to find some man hole cover by which to gain entry, only to find that the only one close had been completely sealed up. "Oh well so much for that." Suddenly there was a loud roaring sound and another jeep, obviously with some sort of engine trouble came around the corner towards the gate. Halfway there, it broke down with a loud puff of black smoke rising from the engine.

"God damn it, of all the times…" The driver cursed angrily, climbing out of the front and talking off his helmet as he lifted up the bonnet. "Get out the back and give me a hand Joe, the radiator packed up again." Another human in a black uniform climbed out the back, leaving his laser rifle behind.

"Thank you god." Bark said quietly, rubbing his hands together.

Getting around the vehicle without being see was not overly difficult and soon all three of them had scrambled into the back, finding several wooden crates marked with the Eggman Empire symbol which they could hide behind. "Oh this is too perfect." Bark remarked as they took up separate positions in the shadows.

"Bloody thing, when we get back to the garrison I'm going to have it scrapped." A voice stated, before 'Joe' climbed back in to a seat near the entrance, grumbling loudly to himself. With a few sudden jerks forward the truck began to go forward again, its engines hollering in reluctance.

* * *

0 

0

0

"This madness end here." The angels booming voice echoed across the reaches of space, silencing everyone who stood within her tremendous ear shot, the span of her giant wings rivalling the ARK itself in width. "Void's rebellion is over." Her angel roared a giant war cry, holding their weapons up high in salute. Void himself however had other ideas, this was the most crucial and perilous part of his plans and nothing should interfere.

Once everything at the device was ready, he left it's relative safety and ventured out into space, flying towards the giant Angel in the confines of the shield that protected him from the vacuum.

"You where my Friend Void, don't force me to fight you." Lumina Flowlight began forcefully as the small creature hovering Void's way, blocking his path with her silver staff. Her large blue eyes narrowed with defiance but a with a hint of reluctance far at the back.

"I'm not the one forcing you to fight." Was his flat reply. He could not allow even she to get in the way at this point. "I have no interest in hurting you or anyone else. My quarrel is with Illumina. It's her that puts you and the rest of her army in harms way." The defiance in her eyes lessened. "I promise you that if a non violent solution is available I will take. You and I are friends…maybe more." That put her off guard. Her determined face melted away to be replaced by shock and confusion, but to Void's delight, a faint blush on her cheeks. "And I suppose this comes down to this question. Do you trust me?"

She was silent, indecision plain on her face. Void didn't wait for an answer. He didn't have time for it. He simply shot past her and carried on towards Illumina.

"Illumina, I call you on charges of a Tribunal!" He shouted up to her in a piercing voice that seemed to radiate across most of the space all the way to the ARK. The giant angel heard it and turned, her massive blue eyes fixed in his general directions.

"Who demands of me?" She asked, her army around her growing silent within moments.

"I do." Void declared floating forward. "I demand a tribunal!"

"Void, you have stepped over the line now." Lumina told him sharply, flying up to his side. "Demanding a Tribunal of our mistress?" Void ignored her and carried only, floating up towards the giant angel's face, steadfast defiance set into his features. "I'm here." Void stated, floating forward. Illumina was many times bigger than he was and the light radiating from her body dwarfed him. The angel turned, his gaze locked only on him.

"You requested a tribunal, so here I am." She began, her wings spreading out, more rays of light lancing away from her. From earth she looked as bright as a second sun. Entire cities just stopped to stare in a mix of wonder and curiosity. Even Eggman, still trying to keep the Egg Carrier from crashing into the ARK could not help but stop and stare from his ship. Despite her beauty and ominous power, Void did not looked overly impressed.

"This time you won't be silencing me." He told her angrily. "Forty years you kept me inside Radiant Emerald just for speaking out against you, torturing me with a near impossible way out." Illumina remained perfectly still, her large blue eyes hardly even blinking. "What gives you the right to threat people like that?" Void demanded.

"You were a distraction." Was her eventual reply, her voice radiating all the way to ARK. All those on the colony could hear the conversation between them. But that was not of her own doing, the construct Void had built in orbit around the Earth was an amplifier, radiating their voices to all those present. "You were diverting my people from the light with your words."

"What, because I chose my own way instead of yours?" Void began again.

"The minds of all should be filled with light, unhindered by the influence of evil." She replied. Void hovered up to be level with her face, staring at her defiantly.

"And forever vacant of choice." He told her. "When people can not choose between good and evil they have no free will."

"If left up to people, they would always choose the hypnotising pull of darkness. Their willpower is not strong enough to resist it. They can not be trusted with their own souls." The entire army of angel she had brought to this dimension looked shock by her words; clearly this was something she had not shared with them. Lumina just stood there with a dumfound look on her face. They had all thought Illumina something close to a god, a compassionate being of mercy and compassion. And Void had just exposed her for what she really was. Just another being with flaws just like anyone else. Shadow watched from the top of the ARK with a wide smile on his face. It seemed like Void had just accomplished his mission.

"The light must be chosen, not forced upon." Void replied. "You, nor anyone else has the right to make that choice for them." He pointed a finger directly at her, declaring one that effort at defiance. "I say you are wrong Illumina."

"Then you shall be destroyed." Her eyes began to glow bright blue as she gathered energy preparing to fire a blast straight at him. Before she could do so however, Lumina darted forward and put herself between Void and Illumina, acting as a barrier.

"No, don't!" He began, visibly shaking as if even she could not believe her actions. Seeing her most loyal warrior step forward to protect Void, Illumina stopped her attack; mostly in shock than anything else. "Please don't mistress."

Sonic watched from the observation decks of the ARK, now more confused than anything else. Things were just out of control around here, so much for a simple hunting Eggman mission.

"You stand with this traitor Lumina?" The giant angel demanded, a definite hint frustration in her voice.

"No, but I can not let you destroy him." Was her unsteady reply. Void put a hand on her shoulder.

"Stay out of this Lumina, I undertook this campaign myself I accept the consequence." He could see tears wheeling up in Lumina's eyes. "If Illumina wants to destroy me, then she can do so; proving to all those present that her words are flawed and not to be trusted." Illumina's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what was going on. Void had been broadcasting their conversation to her entire army and even from here she could hear their subversive mutterings, the utter feeling of anger and betrayal that her own words had given them. She had fallen directly into Void's trap. She could see the smug smile on his face. He knew he had her exactly where he wanted her.

"Very well Void." Se began with more than a hint of an edge to her voice. "You believe you have me in your fingers, state your demands." Void was silent. In this moment, he could demand absolutely anything from her and she would have no choice but to deliver. She couldn't destroy him now. That would only prove him right and her forces would be rebellion before she would have time to blink. He had had exactly where he wanted her and with this trap, he could order her to give him the Maginary Imperial throne. He could have all the power and influence she had and he would be lying if he said that the prospect was less than tempting.

But he had not gone to all this trouble just to waste his one and only shot with petty ambition.

"All I want is for you to let people make the choice by themselves." He told her sharply. "The Light should remain a choice." Illumina set her eyes steely against him.

"Nothing else?" She asked after a moment. Void shook his head, a small smirk spreading over his face. She had been expecting him to be ever so slightly selfish and this had taken her off guard. "You put yourself through imprisonment in Radiant Emerald, ran the risk of loosing a civil war and put yourself in harms way before me just for that?" Void feigned a hurt look.

"What? You didn't think I was in this for power did you?" To his delight, Illumina actually looked stunned. For the first time in hours, Lumina Flowlight breathed a deep sigh of relief, before a stunned awkwardness took hold.

"You planned all this from the beginning?" She asked Void, she floated there with a proud smile and his arms behind his back. "Right from the first moment you rebelled."

"Of course I did." Was his flat reply. "I realized very quickly my strength was nothing compared to hers. If I wanted to beat Illumina, I would have to out smart her." She coughed, then looked up towards Illumina again. "Do I have your word, an oath taken before all those present that you will leave free will alone? Let sentience take its true course." The giant angel paused and looked out across the mixture of her army and Void's, all watching her with puzzled and confused expressions.

"Very well, you have my word." The small creature rubbed his hands together with relish.

"Alright, enough." Eggman sneered, his anger already plain on his face. The ends of each hair in his moustache curling in frustration and his fingers clenched around the arm rests of his metallic throne. "Is the cannon working?"

_"Yes Doctor, it's one of the few systems still operational."_ Becoe replied, still desperately trying to restore control to the bridge.

"Give me control." Eggman demanded, flipping a few switches on his throne before a large periscope like device descended from the ceiling. Taking hold of it with both hands he put on eyes to the lens. Through this he could remotely control the ship's cannon tracking system and his target at this point was Illumina herself.

_"Beginning energy built up."_ Decoe added as the two doors at the front of the Egg Carrier opened up again and the giant needle inside was exposed, red lightning already dancing angrily across its length. The engines at the back of the ship died down and their engines was channelled directly towards the front of the ship instead as the gauge in front of Eggman slowly rose from fifty to sixty percent.

Sonic watched from the colony as the Egg Carrier began the familiar procedures of firing its destructive main gun. He knew from long experience that anything caught in that would not survive and Illumina couldn't even see it. She was too busy with Void to even notice.

The Egg Carrier was out of range; even Chaos Control would not be able to carry him there so that first plan went straight out the window.

"I'll be right back." He told the others before he disappeared in a flash of green light. Warping across space with Chaos Control, he exited the warp on an asteroid orbiting the ARK as near to Illumina as he possibly could. Right now, she and Void were outside the colony's own thin atmosphere. Any further and he'd be exposed to the vacuum of space.

A pulsating red glow began to emerge within the Egg Carrier's cannon as it reached its final stages of preparation. Right now, Eggman was ready an eighty eight percent read out. Within five seconds the cannon would be ready to fire.

"Hey, you over there, incoming!" Sonic tried to shout over to them but he was too far away and Illumina's own voice drowned his out.

"Need a hand?" A voice beside him asked. Looking back, he saw Shadow emerge out of hisown Chaos Control. The black and Red Hedgehog had a rare smile on his face. Sonic nodded.

"Took you long enough to start being a good guy again." Sonic commented dryly. Shadow just shrugged.

"Never really stopped. Void isn't really all that evil. But can we save this discussion for another time?" One Chaos Control warp was a powerful thing, but two used at exactly the same time in exactly the same place was over ten times stronger. But the aim of this warp was not translocation like the others were often used for. This one was a bright white instead of the usual green. The light from this burned so bright that it even got Illumina's attention. Looking back, she saw the asteroid break apart and burn like a second sun was Nazo.

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Nazo

Sex: Male

Species: Hedgehog

Description: The merged form of Sonic and Shadow.


	14. Episode 7, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.) Romance alert!

* * *

Flip Card 2: 

Name: Illumina

Age: Eons

Sex: Female

Description: Queen Illumina is the ruler of the dimensional plain called Maginary world and Guardian of a precious jewel called the precious stone.

* * *

Where there was two Hedgehog's one now remained, with upturned jagged quills like Super Sonic and green eyes like the original but nearly completely white, giving out a glow close to the radiance of the sun. 

The Egg Carrier finally reached full power and with a rocketing boom it fired, a destructive beam of red energy tearing through space straight towards Illumina, disintegrating anything that got caught in it's way, even the Doctor's own flying Dreadnaughts.

Nazo disappeared and then in that same instant was right between Illumina and the destructive force. Calmly he put his arms forward and that next second the destruction reaches him. With a tremendous sound that could be heard from the planet below the white hedgehog formed a shield around him which began absorbing the energy as soon as it came within three feet of his body.

The more the Egg Carrier poured into it the more Nazo managed to capture, his shield growing bigger and bigger as it ate, but the strain on the white hedgehog it seemed was immense.

The shield was devouring the energy and was quickly becoming hard to control, even for him. It was expanding far beyond his ability to quell its appetite and Eggman's ship just kept feeding it more.

His energy nearly drained, Nazo went for one last big push to end the stalemate. Began spinning, throwing his weight over himself again and again under he achieved the momentum he need, becoming a raging ball. The shield instantly shrank to nothing and all the energy being directed was transferred directly to his body. His glow ranged from white to a blood red, radiating light away from him like the brightest star. Now instead of power being pushed out of the Egg Carrier's cannon, power was being drawn out of it. Nazo's entire body was acting like a magnet to it, sucking it dry.

Eggman saw what was happened and desperately tried to shut off the power. It was too late, he was no longer in control of the weapon, Nazo was. With one last push, Nazo stopped spinning, throwing his arms and legs out in one blast that shook the entire ARK. All the energy he had collected on himself was forced back along the beam and directly into the Egg Carrier's cannon.

For the second time, Eggman was forced to watch as one of his best weapons was torn apart from the inside, large chunks of molten metal forced off into space as implosions shook the entire ship. But that wasn't the end of it though.

Illumina narrowed her blue eyes and raised one of her hands; an invisible forced taking hold of the Egg Carrier from within, tearing both its wings off with unimaginable strength, what was left of the ship smacked violently down towards the planet itself. As if to add one for luck, Nazo raised his hands one last time gathering energy, before throwing them forward firing a culminated version of both Shadow and Sonic's attacks: Chaos Spear and Sonic Wind.

This one final blast sent what was left of the Egg Carrier out of a free fall and into a plummet, spiralling out of control as it hit the atmosphere. His energy spent, Nazo's face adopted a dazed expression before he began to slowly float towards the Ark, drawn in by its gravity. As he began to separate into the two Hedgehog's who made him, Void extended a hand and engulfed them both in a shield that protected their bodies from the vacuum of space.

Eggman was thrown from his seat and violently to the floor as the ship lost its low orbit and began to fall into the atmosphere, a thick red glow surrounding the ship as it began its fall.

_"We're loosing the ship sir, all system below thirty percent and falling."_ Becoe told him before an explosion at his console sent him flying backwards. All control had now been lost. He ship was going down and there was nothing anyone on board could do to stop it.

_"We're going to crash!"_ Decoe yelled before scrambling for the exit.

"Get back here you coward!" Eggman told him so sharply his words could have sliced through him like a hot knife through butter. "If we don't get control of our decent we're going to burn up on re-entry!" Without even waiting, Eggman pushed his way towards the command console and took control himself. This was his ship and he'd be damned if he was going to let it becoming some shooting star.

Gently, Void descended back to the ARK, back within a breathable atmosphere, the small imp like creature put them both back down on stable ground.

"Are you happy now?" Lumina asked, floating down next to him. The small imp like creature didn't even look up; even though he was perfectly aware of her presence. "You've shattered the faith of our people."

"They'll get over it. Illumina was just too impressed by her own holiness." He replied with a eventual flat glare. She glared at him, before a faint blush touched her cheeks. She wanted to ask, but was almost afraid to.

"Void…." She began slowly, as if unsure of herself. The small imp like creature looked up. "Did you mean what you said, that…" She broke off under his stare.

Void remained perfectly silent. Whatever thoughts running through his head remaining masked by that emotionless face had had born ever since he first started to rebel. An empty stare, devoid of feel, his eyes as unreadable as ever. Lumina looked away, feeling foolish.

The last thing she expected as for Void to gently cup her face with on hand. Looking up, she saw that he had removed that mask and so the first time in decades she could see something she never thought she would see in him.

Without another word, he gently kissed her. It was a soft touch of their lips, hardly passionate, but neon the less Lumina felt a great deal of electricity pass through her body. Without even thinking about it, she kissed back.

"I won't have left you Lumina unless I didn't have any other choice." He told her through telepathy, his dark eyes now filled with a strange light she had never noticed there before. "You remember the day I turned on Illumina?" How could see forget. That day had been etched into her mind for more than forty years.

Before his rebellion, Void had been a Templar like Lumina and most of the others. As devoted to Illumina as any of them had ever been. He was a role model for the others to look up to and respect.

He had Lumina had been good friends and nothing could have prepared her for the grief she had to endure when he turned on the mistress. As if someone had thrown a switch, Void's attitude towards her changed. Her confronted her openly, challenging her. Lumina could see that he was about to call to a Tribunal, a court of law. Before he could utter the words however, Illumina banished him into the pocket dimension Radiant Emerald. "I knew what her plans would be, so I had to confront her. If I thought there was any other way, I would have taken it. I didn't want to be separate from you." His words almost made her melt.

"You don't have to be any more." She told him.

A door serving as one of the Ark's maintenance opened up and Amy, still with her hammer in her grasp came running out, still with her hammer in her grasp. Knuckles and Rouge quickly following.

"Are you ok?" The pink hedgehog demanded as Sonic pushed himself groggily to a sitting position.

"Did someone get the number of that bus?" He demanded, shaking the grogginess out of his head.

"He's fine." Rouge stated with a giggle. Sonic didn't feel physically weak, but for some strange reason his mind was telling him that he'd run across the entire word eight times. He fell back onto his back, putting his arms behind his head.

"I thought you guys didn't know how to merge into Nazo." Amy began looking puzzled. Sonic sat up and stared at her with sceptical eyes.

"What are you talking about? He asked with a genuinely surprised look on his face and he scratched the side of his head. "We didn't merge."

"Oh yes you did." Knuckles began wearily. "We saw it all from the ARK." The blue hedgehog just levelled his eyes.

"Shadow, you any clue what their talking about?" He asked.

The black and red hedgehog didn't reply. He simply stood up, brushing himself off, a characteristic annoyed look on his face.

"Ok, we stopped Eggman, cleared this mess up and saved the ARK." Knuckles began with more than a swift edge to hic voice. "Can we **_please_** go home now?"

* * *

0 

0

0

So far, this venture was becoming interesting. Both interesting and disturbing could more accurate. Chuck was still trying to figure out what was going on here, but with little to no luck. On his way back to the excavation sight with Chris, it began to rain so he brought up the hood of their jeep to keep it off them.

"Get anything out of that Andre?" His grandson asked from the back seat.

"Not much that made sense." Chuck admitted as they rounded a corner. "He didn't want to talk to me at all. He simple took the note I brought him and gave me another one." Reminded, he glanced down at the coded note in his left pocket. Several times he had tried to deceiver it over the night with no success. This one piece of paper might tell him exactly what was going on here, so long as he could understand what it was talking about.

"Oh no." He began slowly when he saw an ambulance parked just outside the entrance to the excavation sight, along with two police cars. Approaching, they saw a small group of people gathering just behind the vehicle. Two of paramedics lifted up a stretcher between them and an Italian police man zipped up a black body bag. Before he did so, Chuck managed to see the face of the one inside. It was Toriyama, the man they'd been speaking with les than a day ago. He was completely white with a good deal of blood staining his shirt and soon he disappeared inside the back of the ambulance.

Parking the jeep, the two of them made their through the small crowd.

"Sorry, can't allow anyone inside until we've finished our investigation." One of the policeman at the gate told Chuck as they neared the gate into the dig site. From here they could see that all the crates had disappeared overnight, in fact most of the place was empty. A good deal of police tape riddled the area and other Italian police were down there combing the area and others taking pictures. Exactly what had happened here in their absence?

"What happened?" Chuck asked the cop, who was short man with a large thick black moustache and a cap a size too large so it hid his eyes.

"One of archaeologists fell down into that big hole in the night, broke in neck when he hit the bottom." He answered before taking a sip of his coffee from a plastic mug. "It looks like it may have been a suicide though so we're keeping the area off limits for now." Chuck frowned. Suicide his foot, the timing was too coincidental for that. A man desperate for his life told them something he shouldn't have and less than a day later he was dead? There was clearly something nefarious going on here, something someone didn't want anyone to find out about. The big question was still however, what? "You're a friend of his; you may want to follow the ambulance down to the coroners to pay some final respects." The policeman added before wandering off.

"Someone pushed him." Chris told his grandfather as they made their way back to the jeep.

"Or threw him off the edge." Chuck added sitting back in the driver's seat. "Either way, we're going to find out what happened here." Chris climbed into the back seat as Chuck turned the keys.

"How we gonna do that?" He asked as they drove off.

"Simple." Chuck began, putting his shades back on. "I'm going to have another talk with that Andre' guy. This time I'm going to get more answers out of him than I did the last time."

* * *

0 

0

0

"So that was all this was about?" Sonic asked rhetorically looking a little dumbstruck. "You were stuck in Radiant Emerald because you didn't go along with Illumina?" The Icarus, after being pulled out of the wreckage on the ARK was steadily making its way back towards the Earth. Tails' patch job had been enough to hold them together and get them back down, but it was probably best if they avoided any fights with the Egg Carrier from now on. Void had stayed behind in this dimension long enough because Shadow insisted he explain just why the black hedgehog had been working for him.

"It's a little more complex than that but sort of yes." The small creature replied. "Illumina is a creature of light, she has never known anything else but light so the dark temptations of evil can not possibly sway her. Unfortunately she doesn't recognise the need for others to choose between good and evil." He carried on, trying to explain his motivations to a hedgehog whose attention span was incredibly short. "She planed to spread her light to all beings, destroying any dark intentions in sentience." Sonic scratched the top of his head looking a little confused.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked, barley grasping any of the concepts Void was trying to explain. Void rolled his eyes, trying to think of a way of putting it in words that the blue hedgehog would understand.

"Let's put it this way: all people are born innocent aren't they?" Sonic nodded slowly. "Well, during their lives every person in existence chooses their path in life, whether it leads down the path of good or evil. You yourself chose good and Eggman chose evil. And then there are people like Shadow, who hover in-between." The black hedgehog who was sitting within ear shot gave them a sideways glance. "They weren't born like that; they made the decision during their life times." Sonic just nodded again rather than even try to explain he was struggling. "Illumina wanted to remove the choice, forcing everyone to accept the light. When that happens, she would inadvertently remove free-will." Sonic, who was far more comfortable with the concept of good guys and bad guys was finding all this talk about concepts and points of view very confusing but he managed to hang onto it, at least in outline.

"Well that explains what you were doing." Rouge began wearily. "But you still haven't told us why Shadow was doing your dirty work." Shadow snorted loudly.

"I do not do anyone's dirty work!" He snapped angrily, narrowing his eyes at her. "I merely owed him a favour."

"I rescued Shadow from an unstable Chaos Control warp." Void carried on. "In return, he agreed to help me in my work." Sonic sat up.

"Well that about covers everything…only what happens now you've revealing Illumina's intentions to all other those angel dudes?" Void suddenly looked thoughtful, as if he hadn't actually thought this far ahead.

"To be honest I don't know." He admitted eventually. "I suppose I'll have to answer for war crimes." Strangely he did not look too concerned when he added that last part, in fact it looked like it was the last thing on his mind. There was a bright flash as the dimension fabric was interrupted and Lumina Flowlight emerged through another of the portholes. She had changed out of her battle outfit into something more free and flowing, hanging around her ankles with a white haze. "That time already?" Void asked looking up, until he finally sighted her. She was even more beautiful than he had counted on. Her soft blue eyes gazed in his with a detached sadness that forced a pit into his stomach.

"Yes." She replied. "Illumina arranged a trail as soon as she got back to Maginary World."

"I had a feeling she would." Void sighed, floating up still with his legs crossed. "This is the first time her plans have ever been stopped; it's natural for her to feel threatened." Lumina involuntarily shuddered.

"Void please. These last few hours has nearly destroyed the faith of our world, I'm still not comfortable with you talking about her like that." Void didn't say anything more about it.

"I'm confused." Sonic admitted with his usual dumbfounded expression on his face. Knuckles sighed, folding his arms.

"Nothing new there."

"Before I go." Void added, holding his some object he was holding towards Sonic. "You might as well have this; I was using it to power my device. I don't need it anymore." Sonic's eyes widened as Void passed him the grey Chaos Emerald gently sparkling with the chaos energy trapped within. "If this world remains as troublesome as it first appeared, you'll be needing it." Before Sonic could ask him what he meant by that both he and Lumina vanished through the porthole and back into Maginary World. There was a short rippling affect and the hole in the dimension fabric disappeared.

Tikal watched them both go. How many times had she seen lives destroyed and ruined by misguided faith? Her own people perished because of their devotion to Krish and Void became hunted by his own people because he fell ill with their deity. Why was religion so often turned into an excuse for violence?

"Don't be so melancholy." Maria's voice told her within the depths of her own mind, speaking across the width of an entire dimension. "Faith in a higher power's not a bad thing; it's just a few bad guys who turn it into an excuse to bash each other's heads in." Tikal sighed and nodded.

"I think I'll be remaining here for a while." She told Maria with her thoughts, keeping their conversation separate for Shadow's sake. "To keep an eye on Shadow." The female Echidna could almost feel Maria's disbelieving smile.

"And I suppose the fact you find him attractive has absolutely nothing to do with your decision." Tikal blushed involuntarily, an awkward smile passing on her lips. "Shadow's the closest thing I have to a brother so I suppose I should object. But if you can get him to so much as crack a smile he's all yours." Then she was gone.

_

* * *

_

_0_

_0 _

_"Who am I?"_ Lost in darkness, identity meant nothing and all the consciousness knew was a very still emptiness.

"You are the greatest battle machine to ever exist." Came the reply from the abyss, it's sound echoed off the solid substance, adding a brief outline for the sentience spirit to inhabit. "Created for destruction, out grew its creator and achieving god-hood." It added, the outline becoming more and more distinctive.

_"Then…I am a god?"_ The nothingness asked.

"You where, at one point. But at the height of your glory you fell, the victory stealing the power from you." Into that outline, memories began to spill, a chaotic splash of colour and imagery that spit the stillness in two. Briefly through some clear eyes he saw a blue face with emerald green eyes staring down at it. "Beaten, then infected so you lost perceptive of the world and reduced to a mere tool." More memories flooded in and now the entire form was filled, giving the consciousness an actual body. A body that moved and twitched to the minds bidding. A body of metal.

_"What am I now?"_ It asked; hungry for more identity. The darkness was silent for a moment.

"Reborn." Was the flat reply. "Reborn to achieve that power again." The chaos solidified as finally, like flowing river, a unique perspective was granted.

_"I am…." _It began, lifting an arm up to its face, seeing the serrated metallic claws that served as fingers. Its semi circular eyes were glowing bright red, the glow reflected on the polish metal surface._ "I am…"_ The body moved forward, the feet forcing the form off a platform of some kind any onto a cold concrete floor, almost clumsily at first as it grew used to the weight the movements were far more fluid. _"I am Metal Sonic."_ Identity restored and power elevated.

It began, lifting an arm up to its face, seeing the serrated metallic claws that served as fingers. Its semi circular eyes were glowing bright red, the glow reflected on the polish metal surface. The body moved forward, the feet forcing the form off a platform of some kind any onto a cold concrete floor, almost clumsily at first as it grew used to the weight the movements were far more fluid. Identity restored and power elevated. 

"Yes, Metal Sonic. Created by Doctor Eggman to destroy his most hated enemy, the speedster. Sonic the Hedgehog." That name, it rang bells. Metal bowed his head, a deep feeling welling up at the mere mention of it .What was it? What is fear? No, not that. What it anger? No, but close.

Then it realized what it was. Hatred. He hated Sonic the Hedgehog. He hated him with a passion. That hate intensified itself, burning like a thousand suns. A fire that could not possibly be extinguished. A hate that was barley containable. As if sensing the aw emotion, the voice spoke again.

"Why disappoint your creator if hate is all you feel for Sonic?" The logic was sound and the emotional backlash intoxicating. Kill him, voices from the darkness whispered to him one after the other. "But wait. He overpowered you once before, why take a chance?" Memories returned in blazing fire and Metal Sonic remembered. Remembered how with the power of the Master Emerald pulsing from his heart, Sonic had still defeated him. Yes, power was what he need. More than he had had before. "The strength you need can be unlocked." How. How could it be unlocked. He must know, he must have the power necessary to kill Sonic the Hedgehog.

_"How?"_ He demanded, finding his own voice._ "Tell me how I can kill him!"_

He demanded, finding his own voice.

* * *

(In Chris' voice) 

That was confusing but the dangers not over yet! Sonic's about to get a shock, see what happens next time on Sonic X: The New Big Bad Guy! Don't miss it!


	15. Episode 8

(I do not own Sonic X etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!

Episode 8: The New Big Bad Guy

* * *

After a dog fight with the Egg Carrier 3 and a crash landing into the side of the Space Colony ARK the Icarus' performance had been less than factory standard. In fact they were going so slow Tails was worried that they might not make it through the ring around the planet without receiving damage. There was little left on the ARK they could salvage for repairs so Tails had had to made do with what he had and by now, they were approaching the transparent ring that had been formed when the Eclipse Cannon had been fired. 

The Chaos that had engulfed the ARK and the surrounding space only hours ago was now gone, all taken back to some place called Maginaryworld, a universe far beyond their own and Shadow was glad to see the back of it. That conflict was Void's concern not his and with his debt repaid, he could at last ignore it. Whether Void had won or lost mattered very little to him.

They would have been able to leave sooner, but Shadow insisted on leaving the colony near to how he found it.

"What is with these chaotic adventures?" Sonic asked with his feet up on the empty seat next to him. "It's just one thing after another with us." He added trying his best to sound irritated, but his tone failed to give over the impression.

"Don't give us that Sonic." Amy laughed, messing up his quills. "You love every second of it." The blue hedgehog forged a grin.

"Well, maybe a little." He admitted, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back.

"I on the other hand have better things to do then get involved with all this chaos." Knuckles remarked, sitting along near the front watching the planet get nearer and near through one of the windows. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Geesh what are you the Grinch?" He asked looking up at the ceiling in exasperation and annoyance.

"He's right Knuckles, you should learn to live a little." Rouge told the red Echidna as she floated down in the seat next to him, leaning on him heavily making sure he had a more than close up look of her cleavage, turning him redder than he already was. "I could certainly teach you how to live the night life." She added with a near erotic twist to her voice. The Echidna muttered so quietly no-one could here it. Sonic tried to look around the edge of the seat to see what the she-bat was doing but Amy tugged him back again.

Cream sat at the back with Emerl, pointing out all the star constellations to her mechanical friend. Emerl himself could not see a picture of a hunter with a bow and arrow made out in the stars but he faked interest for her sake. Tikal sat next to them watching the stars as well. The stars were different than she remembered them as hardly any of the constellations she was used to seeing weren't there anymore, but she supposed a lot could change in over two thousand years but she had held the long belief that the heavens were eternal, never changing, not even after end of days.

Tails was busy in the cockpit busy trying to keep the make shift space ship on a steady course as they neared the ring. They were going to try to fly over it but the fox still wasn't convinced one of the asteroids wasn't going to spin out of orbit and hit them on their way down. He was having enough trouble getting the shields ready for re-entry.

Shadow, who didn't do much socialising was down in the storage area to the back of the ship with the off line Omega. The black and Red Hedgehog did not necessarily like being alone but he chose to be anyway. He needed to be by himself to put his thoughts together and right now he had a lot to think about. The trip to the ARK had reminded him of her, far more than he was prepared to admit.

"Ah man I'm hungry." Sonic complained for the tenth time. "Can't we make this thing go any faster Tails? I've starving."

"Of course we can go faster." Tails replied from the cockpit. "They'll be picking pieces of us up all over the world when we collide with the atmosphere, but if you insist…" Sonic let it drop. Yawning his relaxed back in his seat closing his, trying to sleep his hunger off. Perhaps if he went to sleep someone could wake him up by handing him a beef burger. A moment later, he felt someone lean on his shoulder. Opening one green lazily he saw that Amy had made herself comfortable using him as a pillow. A year ago he would have pushed her away but now all he did was close his eye and, dare he say it, enjoy her company?

"That's odd." Tails stated to himself, hearing a bleeping sound coming from radar device built into the ship's control panel. According to it, there was an object inbound towards them. It was altering it's course so that's it's direction would intercept them within a few minutes, definitely not an asteroid and it couldn't be the Egg Carrier. Illumina had nearly torn the entire battleship apart. Not even Eggman could have gotten it repaired that quickly.

"Er, Rouge. Are we expecting anyone from G.U.N to help us down?" He asked over his shoulder, but saw how busy she was trying to make Knuckles blush and turned back. He tried sending a signal to the approaching ship, but got no response. He tried again but once more only silence enduring from the com link device.

At this point, Tails was forced to assume that the approaching vessel was hostile. That assumed was verified when the ship came within firing range and a barrage of green laser fire crossed the divide between them, narrowly missing them, but sending shockwaves through the Icarus none the less.

Instantly Sonic was on his feet, looking this way and that like a startled ferret. Another barrage of laser fire struck them across the bow, making the entire Icarus tilt to the side so roughly Knuckles was thrown out of his seat and unto the floor, with Rouge on top of him.

"We're under attack!" Tails exclaimed, trying to bring the Icarus about so her weapons systems could defend her.

"Gee, ya think?" Sonic asked sarcastically, instantly at his side, glancing out the cockpit windows trying to see exactly what was shooting at them. The space ship closing on their right was a giant. Not as long as the Egg Carrier, but sufficiently taller. A deep dark blue in colour, it nearly blended into the background perfectly. It was shaped almost like an old galleon, with several spikes jutting out from its top side, all lined with red blinking lights. The wings stretching out on either side were curved with lined with spikes of their own. Out the back were a collection of rocket engines blasting a neon blue glow out into space, propelling the giant vessel along; a loud humming of mechanics at work radiating away from it. The bow of the ship had a long spike jutting out the front, the tip sparking sharply in the partial sunlight. The entire underside of the ship and wings was a forest of turrets, all barrels aimed directly at them. The Egg Carrier was longer, but this ship still dwarfed the Icarus. In true galleon fashion, engraved along the front of the ship was its name. The letters:

B E H E M O T H- stood out proudly against the cold blue metal.

"Is that Eggman?" Tails began. Sonic doubted it. While the scientist was famous for his battleships, Eggman's Carrier ship was probably still falling by now. There was no way he could contruct another one so quickly. Question was; if it wasn't Eggman then who was it? Another barrage rang out, striking the Icarus across the back, the engines going dead and power instantly leaving the cockpit. "We're dead in the water!" Tails exclaimed, trying to put some control back in the controls.

"Don't say**_ water_** Tails." Sonic remarked dryly, staring up at the giant ship as it drew closer. "You know I don't like that word."

* * *

Shadow's eyes snapped open as he felt the Icarus shake. Sighing, he pushed himself up to his feet and let his senses radiate outwards. There was no doubt that they were under attack, but surely Eggman had learnt his lesson by now? Was that guy glutting for punishment or what. Beside him, the large lumbering form of Omega remained as silent and stationary as ever. 

Either he was a very sound sleeper, or he had powered himself down for his required five hours recharge time. Either way, at the present moment the battle android would be of little help. Not that Shadow needed any to deal with a fat scientist who wouldn't quit.

The ship shook violent for a single moment and several stacked crates down in the hold fell over, a good deal of spare parts for the engines spilling out onto the floor. Shadow could sense that something had physically grabbed the ship. That hadn't been any sort of barrage blast that was for certain. They were being boarded.

A quick Chaos Control brought him to the part of the Icarus that served as an air lock. As the black and red hedgehog had guessed, these invaders where trying to get through here to get inside. He could see through a small reinforced glass window a long tunnel had attached itself to the ship from the outside.

Without warning the door went flying back with Shadow on the end of it, sending them both colliding into the wall on the far side. Being thrown against a wall as bade enough, but having a door smashed in his face did little to lift Shadow's bad mood. Seizing the door with large talons and pushed it large enough to climb through went the first of the invaders. A humanoid robot shaped very much like one of Eggman's badniks, but their armour was royal blue instead of black. These new type was a lot more streamlined as well, thinner arms and legs with a large set of missile launching pads on each shoulder. It's one large horizontal eye latched onto Shadow as he kicked the door off him and turned towards him, the hatches on its shoulders flying open and two missiles already in the air.

Shadow kicked them out of the air back towards the robotic solider, who shielded itself with its left arm against the blast before emerging fully into the ship. Shadow darted forward, landing a sharp kick against its chest before landing a punch on its round head. He raised another fist, but again without warning a shot rang out and a laser blast hit him square in the face, sending the black and red hedgehog flying backwards.

Emerging out of the tunnels came more robots, each one identical to the first, at least five more. Shadow growled, before gathering two Chaos Spear's between his fingers. Sonic was already on his way there after Tails had detected fighting down there, but never made as far as the door to the air lock. Racing down a metal corridor on his way, an explosion tore through the wall to his left, a torrent of flying shards of metal and dust that engulfed him completely. Forced to shield his eyes, Sonic waited until it died down before looking up.

Dust still floated freely through the air, the blue hedgehog didn't see the swing coming. Something with an amazingly strong grip grabbed his ankle and tossed him violently back through the gapping hole and into the chamber beyond, an empty part of the hold that served only as storage space. Flung against the side of a metallic pillar that lanced from the ceiling to the roof, Sonic tried to pull himself up, only to find a metallic fist come flying out of nowhere, landing several blows against his face before something hit him hard against the stomach.

The breath knocked out of him, his eyes wide, Sonic collapsed to his knees holding his stomach as if afraid it would fall out of place at any moment. His vision blurred and his other senses knocked seriously badly, Sonic didn't even notice the two red metal feet placed before him. The one thing he was aware of however; was the sharp pain in his left arm as something violently dragged him up to his feet. His vision returning, the blue hedgehog found himself staring into the face of the one person he never expected to see, least of all here.

"Metal Sonic?" He stammered, only to have a metal fist coming flying out of the darkness, smacking him squarely on the face; forcing the blue hedgehog to the floor.

Looking up, Sonic could see the robotic hedgehog completely now. Now only had his body been restored but elevated, returned back to the form he assumed during the whole Egg Fleet thing. His quills were long and straight, each with a white streak lining their top side. The bracer of each arm was coated in armour plating, covering each hand with their serrated talons. A long purple cape was strapped to his shoulder, gently flapping out behind him.

Before Sonic could react, a hand lashed out, wrapping itself around his throat, lifting him high into the air. The blue hedgehog struggled against it, but the robotic hedgehog's grip was like a steal trap.

_"Well, well, well, what have we here?"_ Metal Sonic asked. _"Why, if it isn't the world renowned Sonic the Hedgehog."_ Sonic began desperately pulling against the talons but found his own strength far too limited._ "You seem weaker than I remember."_ He heard his metal counterpart say as he looked up weakly, seeing the glowing eyes above him. _"You didn't really think you'd get rid of me that easily did you?"_

"I don't know what you're talking…" He didn't get the chance to finish the sentence. Metal Sonic drew his arm back and tossed him across the chamber, slamming his body into the side of a wall._"_

_Deception won't save you this time." _Came the bitter reply as Sonic's vision began to blur. _"You honestly thought infecting me with your personality would keep me in line forever?" _With a sudden flare, the glow from his half eclipsed red eyes expanded to his entire visor. _"You're pathetic."__

* * *

_

Amy's hammer was already in her grasp as the invaders pounded relentless on the door to the front section of the Icarus, a door Knuckles and Rouge were desperately trying to keep shut. Even their combined strength did not seem like enough to keep it closed forever through. Whatever was on the other side of that door really wanted in. Cream and Cheese were hiding near the front, with Emerl standing over them. Once again the robots only instinct was to protect her from anything and everything.

"A plan would really help right about now!" Knuckles stated, putting his shoulder to the door as those on the other side pushed against it as well, desperately trying to force it open.

"We're going to have to fight!" Rouge told him, her feet digging into the floor as he pushed against the door.

"There's never a non-violent solution is there?" The Echidna grunted, the door creeping open inch by inch. Now it was ajar enough for two large metal talons to poke through and take hold of it.

"Get ready to open the door." Amy told them, flipping her hammer around for the spiked edge went forward. They looked back at her with wide eyes, the question; are you insane; plain on their faces. Slowly the pink hedgehog approach the door, holding her hammer like a golf club. "On the count of three." She added. Knuckles and Rouge gave each other a startled glance, before stepping back.

The door flew open and one of the new variants of the badnik design came cascading in. Amy swung her hammer over her shoulder, before smashing its spark end straight through the robots head, tearing a giant hole through it. The robot staggered backwards for a moment before crashing to the ground. The victory was short lived as another climbed over it, walking all over it's fallen comrade as it pushed it's way inside.

Amy dodged around laser blasts, smacking a metal fist away with the blunt of her hammer before somersaulting over the robotic solider and coming down behind it with the sharp end of her hammer angled downwards, tearing a large hole down it's back.

A third came at her from behind with talons already raised. Rouge came flying through the air, landing a kick against it's face making it toppled over. Knuckles finished of by ploughing one of his super hard punches straight through it's chest, the tips of his spurs rocketing out the other side.

More robots kept coming and try as they might to drive them back, their numbers seemed to never cease. Tails was still desperately trying to shake the Icarus free of whatever hold the other ship had them in without much success and he was using most of the engines fuel up in the process.

If they didn't get away and soon they wouldn't have enough power left in the ship to safely land it.

Knuckles swung another punch back, deflecting a swing before doubling back. There were two many of them in the corridor beyond and more were coming. Even all three of them wouldn't be able to beat them all.

Somewhere, one of the intruders got a lucky shot in, hitting Amy across the face with a laser blast. The pink hedgehog swayed for a moment, before her hammer dropped from her hand and he toppled backwards to the floor, blood staining her already messed up quills. Cream was already by her side, trying to wake her up. But she didn't. The pink hedgehog just remained still, lying there lifelessly.

"Amy!"

Shadow, now irritated beyond all belief, rocketed forward in his own version of the spin attack, tearing through several of the invaders at once, leaving scattered robotic limbs lying everywhere.

Another came at him from behind, metallic talons flying through the air toward him. Back flipping, the black and red hedgehog came down behind him with a Chaos Spear already burning in his grasp.

The robot fell to the ground, it's metal surface boiling, torn fragments lying scattered here and there.

Using a chaos spear to dislodge one of arms, the one with a small laser built into it, aiming it straight back towards those still coming through, using it to slice on their heads clean of and carved a deep hole down several more. Stunned for a moment, they left their defences down for a brief moment. This all Shadow needed to push his hands forward and fire a double Chaos Spear straight through them, reducing those closest to ashes and shattering any others.

"This is getting old." He muttered to himself as others came through the air lock almost instantly to replace the others, knocking the smouldering wreckage of the fallen aside.

This seemed a good a time as any to test out a technique of energy manipulations he had been toying with. Chaos Spear and Chaos Control were powerfully attacks by themselves, but together they erupted in a burying white light that sent a wave of destruction rocketing forward, sending three several androids straight into oblivion and the others rocketing back wards into their ship which had anchored itself to the Icarus.

The connections served and a air tight seal broken, debris from the battle began being sucked out into space. Once all the robots had gone, Shadow slammed a fist down on the emergency shutters button and a large door came down, sealing off the air lock.

_"Clever little hedgehog."_ A voice stated. Shadow whipped around to face another robot, but this one was off a far different design to the rest. It's design was the closest of any robot he had seen to the human anatomy, perfectly shaped arms and legs and almost knight like silver armour placed over it's entire body. it's head was encased by a helmet, a pair of glowing yellow eyes visible just behind a visor.

"Don't you robots have any brains?" Shadow asked irritated, firing a Chaos Spear straight at him. To his surprise, the robot side stepped with unexpected agility and the attack missed it. Shadow narrowed an eye, before firing again. The same result, the robot dodged around it. "Ok, who are you?" The black and red hedgehog demanded angrily, jabbing a finger forward.

_"I am Equinox, second general of Metal X Machine Federation."_ The robot replied, removing his helmet. His actual head was more human than Shadow could imagine._ "Servant of the lord Metal Sonic." _His eyes were hidden underneath a thick layer of glass, a precise jumble of clockwork and lights._ "From his descriptions, I imagined you've be taller."_ The eyes lanced from Shadow's head and foot, steadying the ultimate Life-form's antimony with scrutinising detail.

* * *

Metal Sonic hammered a punch into Sonic's stomach, before grabbing him by the arm and tossing him head first into the side of the wall. The blue hedgehog had never seen have the opportunity to put up a decent defence. Metal Sonic's attacks were relentless and without even the smallest shred of mercy. When he came at Sonic it was with such intense hatred the blue hedgehog could not help but flinch away from it.

He recovered enough senses to block a kick, before retaliating with one of his own. His foot was nearly crushed as Metal Sonic's fingers clenched around it, before the robot lifted him into the air, tensed his arm and smashed the blue hedgehog down on the floor.

_"__Where are your quick retorts now blue boy?"_ Metal asked, lifting him up by his quills before holding a flat hand to his stomach and blasting him with a concentrated attack of Chaos Energy. Taking the full brunt of it, Sonic was flung battered down to the floor.

His body aching, Sonic refused to give up. With super mobian effort, he paused himself to his feet, holding his fists out front of himself in a weak attempt at a fighting stance.

Metal Sonic tore through his defences like they weren't even there, smacking him several times around the head before landing a kick against his stomach.

"Alright, that's it!" Sonic growled, something inside him snapped apart from his ribs. Grabbing Metal Sonic's leg, he knocking the robotic hedgehog backwards before landing a succession of super fast punches against his torso. The blue hedgehog didn't stop there through, several kicks made their way through landing on she shoulders before one final blow from a spin attack sent Metal Sonic flying across the chamber to collide with a wall.

With a loud echoing thump, Metal Sonic fell down to the floor, lying limp. Sonic was incredibly out of breath. He paused, resting himself on his knees just long enough to catch himself again. As he did so he saw two metal red feet stand nearby.

Looking up in dismay, he saw Metal Sonic standing over him. His eyes glowing blood red and claws outstretched as if Sonic hadn't caused him any damage at all. He was like a bulldozer, tearing through anything that got in his way.

"Oh sh…" Before Sonic could finish, a sharp blow came flying out of nowhere knocking him to the ground.

_"__Your stupidity amazes even me."_ He stated, kicking Sonic as he tried to get up again._ "Did you learn nothing from our last battle?"_

A dark blue shape came darting forward, a kick landing itself straight across Sonic's stomach, making him double over.

"Why Metal…I don't…" He managed to splutter, trying to find the strength to push himself to his knees. Standing over him, Metal Sonic lifted a hand; gathering chaos energy attach between his fingers, forming it into a ball.

_"You organics don't deserve this world." _Was his reply as his hand began to glow bright green. _"You won't be stopping me this time."_

_

* * *

_

Flip card 2:

Name: Metal Sonic

Age: (Created just over a year ago)

Sex: (Robots don't have any.

Species: Robotic hedgehog

Description: Created by Eggman to destroy Sonic, Metal Sonic once broke his programming and tired to be a good guy. Since then, someone reprogrammed him to be evil. Now he is the leader of a new robot empire, the Machine Federation.


	16. Episode 8, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X)

* * *

Flip card 2:

Name: Equinox

Description: Second general of Metal X, one of four of Metal Sonic's greatest servants.

* * *

Sent flying by a metal fist, Sonic back flipped in mid air and rebounded off the side of a wall. Metal Sonic absorbed his counter spin with his large bracer before seizing him by the arm and smashing him repeatedly against the floor. Freeing one arm from the fall, the blue hedgehog took hold of a pipe sticking out of the floor and used the momentum to tear his robotic counterpart up from the floor before smashing his back into the side of a metal pillar in the centre of the chamber. 

As Metal Sonic bounced off it, Sonic came at him again with a flurry of punches, knocking him back again before landing one last kick against his head, sending him flying down towards the ground. Landing in a fighting stance, Sonic paused to catch his breath. His strength was beginning to fail him; Metal Sonic was now twice as strong as he had been before. Sonic wouldn't be able to last against him much longer.

Metal Sonic rose up from the floor like a phoenix from the ashes, its eyes glowing blood red. His armour looked like it hadn't even been touched, not so much as a scrap or cut on it.

How had he gotten so strong? The robotic hedgehog's strength and speed had even surpassed those he had during the rise of the Egg Fleet, while Sonic's was beginning to wane. Not only that, but he seemed to get stronger and more agile as their fight wore on.

Pausing only long enough to gather himself, Sonic shot forward with a punch that Metal blocked. Swinging his leg around, the blue hedgehog smashed a kick into the robots side before somersaulting over him and smashing the strongest spin he could muster directly into his back. Metal Sonic was sent rocketing forward before he collided with the side of a wall, leaving a large imprint in the surface.

Sonic backed off, still finding it hard to catch his breath.

"Well, how'd like that huh?" He asked with a smirk, before collapsing to one knee, more exhausted then he thought possible. Even part of his body from his quills to his toes felt like something had completely drained their energy. Looking up, he could see Metal was still embedded in the wall, his arms spread out in a near comical fashion. After a moment, the blue hedgehog could hear the robot making some sort of noise that seemed familiar. It took a moment to register in his tired mind, but eventually it came to him. Metal Sonic was laughing.

His arms wrenched themselves free, the talons tearing hold of the wall before they pushed Metal's entire body free. The robotic hedgehog shook himself to dislodge a few fragments from his armour before turning to face Sonic.

_"I've endured this game for long enough."_ Then he simply disappeared. Sonic didn't have time to look around for him as sliding through the air faster than Sonic could even see, Metal Sonic landed a single punch against his stomach before smashing three kicks against his chest. Sonic was sent tumbling backwards, spiralling out of control as he crossed the floor.

Metal wasn't done there either. Souring through the air, he came down behind the already injured hedgehog and smashed another kick into his back, sending him flying in the opposite direction. Tumbling helplessly, Sonic couldn't defend himself from the onslaught. Metal batted him a bout like a rag doll across the chamber, battering him repeatedly with blows that left him dazed and bruised.

Finally, Metal reached down and lifted Sonic aloft in one hand, his talons clenched around his left arm. Blood of oozing from his nose, left eye and mouth, thick black bruises covering his arms and legs and more than luckily, several broken ribs if not arms or legs.

"You're my friend Metal." The blue hedgehog managed to splutter. In reply to this, Metal Sonic simply laughed before tossing him down towards the floor.

_"You're more of an idiot than even I estimated."_ The robot laughed, delivering a sharp kick, sending him rolling across the chamber to the far wall. _"That Metal Sonic was a polluted parody of my true self. It was your infectious personality that corrupted my main program. But now he cleansed me of your virus."_

"He?...Who's he?" Sonic demanded, finding the inner strength to push himself unsteadily to his feet.

_"That's my little secret."_ Was the sharp reply. The fight that ensued was over was quickly as it began. Sonic was already in no fit state to put up a fight and Metal was now over twice as fast and strong as him. Within two minutes, the blue hedgehog lay broken and battered at Metal Sonic's feet, desperately trying to get up; his desire to fight burning ever brighter but his body far too fatigued to manage it.

Gathering all his energy, Sonic forced his hands upwards and fired at close range a Sonic Wind. The swirling energy caught Metal Sonic by surprise, tearing straight through the right hand side of his body; ripping his arm from his metallic frame.

The robotic hedgehog staggered backwards, energy sparking around his wound.

Sonic forced his way to his feet, breathing hard. He hadn't wanted to do that but Metal Sonic had left him little option.

"What!" He demanded as he watched a startling sight. Metal Sonic's eyes blared bright red and parts of his body began to liquefy, forcing their way to his wound; reforming a new arm from nothing. Once the new limb was completed, Metal tested it's strength, before turning back to the startled blue hedgehog.

_"You can't stop me that easily Sonic. My body instantly repairs any damage it receives and whatever technique was used to hurt me it copies."_ He held his new hand out, swirling blue power now whipping around his arm._ "In short, I am invincible."_ A copy of Sonic's own attack shot from his arm and hit the blue hedgehog head on. For the first time, Sonic was on the receiving end of his own attack. The tornado of power encircled his body, tearing at his blue fur, before ripping him from the floor. Flung around the chamber, Sonic was tossed like a rag doll from wall to wall before finally slammed hard against the floor; sending a wave of pain through his entire body. _"The more you fight back, the stronger I become."_ Metal added, before drawing a leg back and kicking the hedgehog straight in the chest; breaking at least one rib.

Sonic shuddered at the impact, falling to his knees, his eyes wide as he hugged his chest. Pain shooting through the whole front side of his body. Metal Sonic punched him down fully to the floor, keeping his metal foot onto of his head.

Yes, crush him. The voices told him, screaming at him to finish it. Crush him under your foot was their message. Where better to end Sonic's career? He could feel the blue hedgehog squirming under it, trying to move. It was a hopeless resistance. All Metal had to do now and stomp.

But in the end, what would that prove? That he was no better than Eggman, an opportunist who took his greatest enemy by surprise? Besides, Sonic hadn't been the one to defeat him before. It had been that merged hedgehog Nazo that delivered the final blow. Metal wanted to defeat him in combat, to prove that he was stronger and in everyway more powerful. Only then would he destroy him.

Almost reluctantly he retracted his foot, leaving the battered hedgehog flat on his face. Sonic groaned, his body aching but not beaten, forcing himself over onto his back. He had a black eye and cuts everywhere, blood oozing from his nose._"_

_Have no illusions hedgehog."_ Metal told him._ "The Metal Sonic you used for your own bidding is dead. I am the real Metal Sonic."_ The blue hedgehog spat a mixture of blood and saliva at his feet.

"No you're not. The real Metal Sonic had surpassed this. You just devolved." He managed to say between drawn out breaths. "Shadow and I beat you once, we can do it again." Metal chuckled.

_"Cocky and arrogant to the last."_ He leaned down, kneeling so their faces were level._ "Well I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. Even as I speak, my own robots are over running your ship." _A horrified looked passed over the blue hedgehog's face, realizing that he had left the others undefended._ "Don't worry. We aren't here for you, we're just after the Chaos Emerald you so conveniently managed to take from the ARK. You saved me the trouble of retrieving it."_ He leaned closer a little closer, the hate in his half eclipsed eyes more than evident. _"I'll be dealing with you and you pathetic rabble you call friends soon enough."_

"My lord." Came a flat emotionless voice from somewhere on Metal Sonic's body. The robot paused and stood up, lifting his bracer to his face, a small flap opening up to reveal a com device. "We have the Chaos Emerald." If it was possible, a small smile would have spread over Metal Sonic's face.

_"Be grateful I'm letting you and your companions live for now."_ He told the blue hedgehog before turning, his cape following out behind him. Sonic grimaced, forcing his arms to prop his body up.

"Wait…." He began, blood leaking from his nose and mouth. Metal Sonic paused and looked back over his shoulder. " You're...our friend Metal. You took a direct hit for us." The glow from the robotic hedgehog's eyes intensified.

_"Believe me Sonic, I won't be making that mistake again."_ With that he was gone. Sonic tried to crawl after him. But his strength was gone and he collapsed to the floor, sinking into unconsciousness almost instantly.

* * *

- 

Shadow studied Equinox for a moment. He was different from the other robots he'd had to endure, and a lot faster. It took a tremendous amount of agility to dodge around a Chaos Spear attack. Sonic was the only one who had managed it before. He had the look of being heavy and slow, yet moved with fluid and precise movements.

"Machine Federation?" The black and red Hedgehog repeated, crossing his arms, narrowing his eyes. "Never heard of you."Equinox looked amused by the remark.

_"That will soon change believe me. Within a year, every sentient being on your planet will know who we are."_ His yellow eyes squinted at Shadow through the visor of his helmet. _"The Machine Federation is the creation of Lord Metal Sonic. Four robot clans that will serve as his army in our wars of expansion."_ Shadow chuckled lightly to himself.

"World conquest? Don't bad guys have any other goal?" He asked with a large smirk. These people were all the same, their one ultimate goal above all others, the domination of a region or planet.

_"The sentient organics of this planet are naturally flawed creatures they war, become riddled with disease and then die so early in their lives. Their only reason to exist was to create us mineral forms of life to replace them. Now that the Federation has come into being, their moment of existence has passed. Only the strong will survive in our world. And it will be our world soon enough."_ Equinox replied, holding on arm up. A small compartment on the underside of it opened and a sword like blade. _"But when the Master told us of the Ultimate lifeform, I knew I had to come here to see it for myself."_ He paused to give Shadow a fresh look over. _"I see your power is immense and your skill and strength unchallenged. Truly impressive, no organic comes even close to being your rival."_ Unlike Sonic, Shadow could not be flattered. He simply raised his arm and fired a chaos Spear at point blank range directly towards the robot. Equinox raised his sword, the width of the blade absorbing the attack and directing it away from him.

Shadow sneered, before skating forward, landing a kick directly against the side of one arm. Equinox staggered backwards, the momentum drop of his guard allowing the black and red hedgehog to get it close enough to smash a fast volley of punches directly against his chest plate, before finishing with a spin attack at his head. Equinox was sent flying backwards before landing with a loud crash against the side of the wall.

Shadow remained in a crouch for a moment, before standing up, the beginnings of another Chaos Spear burning between his fingers. Equinox hauled himself to a sitting position, a gentle laughing escaping him. _"Ah yes, just like the Master said; Swift, agile and powerful. I can see the title; Ultimate Life-form is fully justified." _In an instant he was back on his feet. _"But still, as an organic you are flawed and must be removed. Unless of course you prove worthy of a place at our side."_ Bring his sword up, he slide forward with surprising speed and began slashing, his swings ruthlessly calculated, coming within inches of Shadow's skin. Shadow simply began dodging, sliding through his attacks like a shade.

Getting close enough, he whipped around and fired a Chaos Spear directly at Equinox. The robot ducked under it and brought the tip of his sword straight across Shadow's chest, the tip narrowly missing his heart, a few strands of white fur from his chest falling to the floor. Shadow looked down at the unexpected hair cut, before darting forward and slamming a knee directly into Equinox's face. Blinded, the robot dropped they sword, trying to remove its damaged helmet.

The black and red hedgehog did not let that go unpunished, he somersaulted over him, paused to gather enough energy in his hands before firing several Chaos Spear's all at once directly into his back. Taking the full force of the attack, Equinox collapsed to the floor, a large smoking hole burnt into his armour.

Back flipping to his feet again, Equinox smashed his own fist into Shadow's face before landing a kick of his own. The robot possessed strength that surprised Shadow and so the black end red hedgehog was forced to reply more on speed to allude his opponents swings than sheer physical power.

Shadow batted one of the robots fists aside before sliding in close, landing a punch directly across his chin, knocking Equinox to the ground with a loud thud. Instantly Shadow was on him, smashing punch after punch into his face before Equinox grabbed him by the arm and tossed him back. Shadow rebounded off a wall and came back with a flying kick. Equinox side stepped avoiding it then tried to hit Shadow as he came across. The black and red hedgehog grabbed his arm and rocketed over it, swung momentarily in the air before a leg came flying out of nowhere, smashing a kick directly into the back of his head, knocking his ruined helmet off and leaving the robot himself flat on his back.

"I'm only going to tell you this once. Get off this ship." The robot flipped himself over and back to his feet, his sword instantly reappearing in his hand. His helmet had been removed, revealing his actual head. It was modelled after a human's head, with eyes, nose and mouth almost mimicking their features. On each side of his head where the ears should be were two horn-like jagged pieces of metal that curved up towards his bald head. His yellow eyes shielded only by a thick layer of glass, behind which Shadow could easily see a jumble of complex clockwork and electronics.

_"__You are perfect except for one thing Shadow. You retain emotion, an attribute that weaken organics like no other. You could be truly be an Ultimate if you renounce them. The federation has ways of removing their influence if you so wish."_ The robot stated almost in a nonchalant-manner. Instantly the black and red hedgehog's face was awash with utter disgust._ "It would pain me to destroy something as near perfection as yourself. Lord Metal Sonic may not agree with me, but I believe if the life-form proves worthy is should be preserved."_

"You sicken me." Shadow replied, flying forward, grabbing Equinox by the arm and tossed him over his own shoulder and into another wall. The black and red hedgehog didn't even stop there; he just kept slamming Equinox into any solid object he could find before landing him on the floor and firing one last Chaos Spear directly against his chest.

Equinox didn't move. Shadow just lowered his arm and began to walk away. He stopped when he heard something from behind him and turned. Equinox had already picked himself up apparently unharmed, although his armour was nearly in tatters.

_"Whether you join or oppose us matters very little."_ He stated, his voice leaving no room for any sort of argument._ "Winning against me is within your capabilities, but not against my three brothers and impossible against the master."_ Shadow raised an eyebrow._ "I am one of four generals created by the lord Metal Sonic and by no means the strongest. One of the will see to your death should you choose to be an enemy."_

"You talk too much." Shadow replied flatly, raising a fist. "Attack me, and I'll grind you into the dust." He heard Equinox chuckle before he faded away, teleporting through some means of technology, becoming transparent before fading away altogether, his last words

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I where you Shadow."

* * *

It had taken some time, a lot longer than they had anticipated, but eventually Bean, Bark and Hare made it to the Four Points artillery Cannon. The one thing that deafened the Eggman Empire occupation force in England. Once it was removed, nothing would be preventing the forces gathering around the British isles from starting their invasion.

"Can't you hurry it up?" Hare asked in a hushed whisper and Bark set the charges on the last of Bean's explosives. Gaining entry to the foundations of the tower hadn't been difficult; it was getting out unharmed that bothered them so much. By now, the security teams around the city were beginning to suspect something. They could tell that the forces surrounding the British Isles were readying themselves, but for what they could not say.

Escaping the city after the bombs went off would be impossible. The security would be put instantly into red alert. Nothing would be allowed to enter or leave the perimeter walls. So instead, Bark had thought of something better. Once the tower had been demolished, they would escape the grounds and hide in the back alleys of the city and wait. It would not be long after that, that the G.U.N coalition strike force would be knocking at their doors and they would have other things on their mind than finding three saboteurs.

"Controlled demolition is a difficult business." Bean remarked; setting the last of the plastic explosives in a crack where it would not be discovered until it was too late. "You don't want this thing to come falling down on some civilians do you?" Hare simply grumbled and turned back to his watch. The robots never patrolled inside the tower for some strange reason none of them could guess too, instead they remained stationary outside as still as statues. That made Bark nervous, but still they had a job to do.

"Ok, that's the last of it." Bark stated, fitting a few last wires into the device and straightening up.

"Good." Bean added, reaching into his backpack for his programmer device. This allowed him to change the settings of his bombs from either times to remote triggered. "I think five minutes should be enough for us to get away." He pressed the screen on the small rectangular device before putting it back. "Ok, let's move, in five minutes, this is all going to go sky high."

"Not before time." Hare added dryly, looking out through a porthole window one last time to watch the large Dreadnaught standing ten feet away on the other side of the stone wall. The tower was placed on an artificial island in the middle of Thames River, guarded on all sides by patrol boats and several large Dreadnaught robots. The trio had managed to gain entry by hiding about one of the boats and had swum ashore then the several searchlights amounted about were occupied elsewhere. Getting past the Dreadnaughts hadn't been that difficult. The large robots weren't as advanced as those other Badniks where and wouldn't look twice in their direction if they didn't make a noise.

The foundations of the tower were several chambered with a multitude of stone and metal pillars. These supports were all that had to be taken out in order to bring the whole thing down. Against nearly each one, Bean had planted explosives of many kinds ranging from plastic explosive to T.N.T which seemed more than enough to bring the whole place crumbling inwards.

Bark was not the only one who found that they had encountered no security inside the tower itself odd. Hare was also puzzled. After all the efforts to keep them out outside, he wouldn't have thought the place would at least have some staff to keep it operations. The machines above however seemed fully automated, but that still didn't warrant no protection. There was advanced security upstairs where the tower was. That was more than expected, but nothing down here. Intruders could simply walk in if they wanted.

His large ears stood on end as he picked up a distant sound in the background. At first it was so quiet he could barley hear it and as time passed, it began to increase in pitch and strength.

"You hear there?" Bean asked, how able to hear it himself. The three of them stopped, trying to figure out that was making that noise. An idea suddenly sprang to mind and Hare looked down, finally noting the large metal grates on the floor, the ones that covered several large holes leading downwards into the river. At first he hadn't paid much attention to them, but now that he was forced to he realized what they were here for. This tower's base didn't need any security because it didn't need it. If intruders were detected, the system simply began a purge.

Geysers of river water began rocketing up into the chambers, spraying all of them with the pollution Eggman's factories had been dumping into it. Within moments the floor was covered in an inch of steadily rising water.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Bark shouted, pushing his way through the rising tide towards the metal staircase they provided them entry down here. Without warning a large steal door came flying down from the ceiling, blocking it off and leaving them all trapped. Bark bashed his large fist against it several times, but the barricade did not budge.

"Bugger!" Hare began, now what the water was well above his knees now. "I knew you two would get me killed someway, I just didn't thing it would be by drowning." Bark ignored him and kept punching the door, only succeeding in hurting his own fist. That door was a security feature, not even Bean's explosives would be able to move that.

"We won't be drowning." Bean reminded them with a more that worried expression o his face. "In less than four minutes, the explosives so off and we all get blown to pieces."

"Oh no you don't." The polar bear began through clenched teeth, refusing to cease his attack on the door. Repeated punches flying one by one into its surface without so much as leaving a dent in the metal. "I'm not ready to cash my chips in yet!" All the while the water was rising and within minutes they would be out of air to breath.

Bean retreated to whatever high ground he could find and searched his bag. He was nearly out of explosives and all he had left were a few sticks of T.N.T and a box of matches. He looked over towards the porthole windows that stared outside. The water hadn't reached them yet. That he had would just have to be enough.

Wading through the rising waters, Bean made his way over to the far water and stuck as many sticks of dynamite as he could into the window crevice, the round edge holding it fast. He rushed his work, widening all the fuses into one quicker than he should before trying to strike a match. The water had nearly made them all damp and near impossible to use but eventually one flared to life and he hurriedly lit the fuse with it.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He cried, wadding as quickly as he could away from it. Hare and Bark looked up, before the entire wall exploded and the water that was being pumped up began flying out in a rapid river outside, carrying them with it. Hare tried to hole onto a metal pole but the current swept him away and outside with the others.

The Dreadnaughts standing outside all turned to stare, one of them was too slow and it got swept away and into the river. Just as the three of them landed in the river, the timer on Bean's bombs reached zero and the entire foundation of the tower erupted in a fire storm, throwing several robot guard outside straight into the water. The tower lurched to one side violently as its legs were taken away from under it, the stone base beginning to crumble into the waters.

Then finally with a loud groan that could be heard across London, the tower crashed down into the river, causing a tidal wave that send Bean, Bark and Hare surfing over the surface and straight onto a rocky bean just under the London Bridge.

Couching and struggling for breath, their fur and feathers completely drenched, they looked back to see what remained of the artillery Eggman used to keep his conquest safe sink below the surface, the island it stood on still in flames.

Bark reached back into Bean's backpack and withdrew a small com device. Physical worn out, he pressed a single button on it before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

Miles away to the south west, a small light in Okida's raptor Mech began blinking. He paused long enough to stare at it, before a large smile spread over his lips.

"This Major Okida to all G.U.N front line forces." He began almost happily down the com to the other troops waiting across the channel. "Artillery is done, I repeat artillery is done. Commence Operation D-day 2 at once."

* * *

- 

Shadow had discovered Sonic unconscious some time ago, lying beaten and bruised on the floor in one of the cargo hangers. With the blue hedgehog over his shoulder, the ultimate life form traversed his way through the Icarus. Destruction lay everywhere metal corridors and chambers in absolute tatters, scorch marks from laser fire lining nearly every wall. The ship was a mess, yet there was no sign of the invaders. They had come and then gone, probably after taking what they came for.

Arriving at the cockpit and bridge, Shadow discovered more scenes of battle. Apparently, their boarding party had bee here as well. The door had been bashed in and the signs of a struggle were more than evident beyond. Knuckles sat with Rouge trying to dress his wounds, but the Echidna was trying to avoid it, leaving a bloody cut on one of his dreadlocks. The bat herself had not escaped without injury, there were two large bruises on her left arm and one of her gloves had been torn to shreds. Amy seemed the worst hurt. She sat at the far end near Tails in the cockpit; Tikal was tending to the numerous wounds to her head. Some that had bloodied her quills.

"Sonic!" The pink hedgehog cried, nearly knocking Shadow over as he put the blue hedgehog's limp body down on one of the seats. "Who did this?" She asked, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Metal Sonic." Shadow replied with a sneer. He didn't even have to be there for it. He just knew, Equinox had told him that he served the robotic hedgehog and armed with that knowledge, it was a safe assumption who had done this to his long time rival. Indeed, Metal Sonic was the only one capable of doing it, the only one strong enough by far. The black and red hedgehog paused, suddenly noting the lack of a Chaos energy flux generated by the grey Emerald Void had given them. "The Chaos Emerald, where is it?" Knuckles pushed himself up.

"We tried to stop them." The Echidna stated. Blood was running out the side of his mouth, a good deal of bruises ran over his chest and arms and his dreadlocks were all out of place. "There were too many. They took the Chaos Emerald." Shadow blinked and looked over towards the container in which Sonic had placed the grey Chaos Emerald that Void had given them. It lay on the floor, its lid off and the interior empty. Strange though, that they took the jewel and then left without finishing them off.

"We've got bigger problems right now." Tails added coming out of the cockpit. "That attack disabled the controls. I can't get them back on line and if I can't correct our course after we enter the atmosphere we're going to come down all wrong." His eyes were wide with fear, even behind his goggles. "We're going to crash!"

* * *

(In Chris' voice) 

Metal Sonic a bad guy again? What did that guy Fang sold him to do to him? And how are Sonic and the others going to get out of this mess? It's free fall time as the Icarus plummets towards Earth! Find out what happens on the conclusion of the Sonic Shuffle Saga: The Decent. Don't miss it!


	17. Episode 9

(I do not own Sonic X etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO, LET'S GO!

* * *

Episode 9: The Decent. 

With the signal transmitted, the largest full scale attack in Earth's entire history began. Mech Walkers had been gathering in great numbers in the countries surrounding Britain, all awaiting the one signal they needed to begin. Early in the morning that signal was given and the invasion began.

The main force came from the south, advancing across the channel in gigantic battleships, the large Mech's already standing on the decks ready for action. To their delight, the infiltration mission had been successful. The artillery that had kept them from attacking did not show itself. The skies remained free of the deadly metal rain.

Believing themselves invincible with their advanced technology, the Elite were taken completely by surprise as Mech's were storming past their coastal defences meeting with little resistance, decimating any robot force they tried to muster.

Meeting with Major Okida's group already fighting the occupying forces on the south west coast, the army of G.U.N began the systematic process of evicting the Eggman Empire. It was difficult but took far less time than they fought it would. By the time they were outside the gates of London, the Elite had turned and fled for their lives. Not that that had done them any good, they had run north, directly into the teeth of the second force heading down from Scotland.

"This is completely unacceptable." One of the Elite murmured as they all boarded the excavation plane, a technologically enhanced jet that would take them all safely out of the country. The G.U.N invasion force was already a few miles from London. Some scouts were already trying to penetrate the city defences. The Dreadnaughts holding the city would not be able to keep them from liberating it but they would be enough to by them time to escape.

"Eggman's lost his campaign." Another agreed, but with a near satisfied smirk on his face. "We should never have supported him." That was the mutual feeling held by all of them, a shared feeling of disaffection. Before Eggman turned up their influence was far reaching. As long as they kept the cash following they had entire governments in their pockets. With time, they would control the entire world. But then Eggman arrived and everything changed. They had been forced to change their plans and they, unfortunately included siding with him.

"Too late to cry over spilt milk now." Their current leader announced with a sigh as they sat down, the final safety checks for take off already underway. "Doesn't matter, we go back to the big banks and start influencing G.U.N. We'll get our way in the end people don't worry." Time had always been on their side. Most people were content to let him handle the money. What they didn't realize was of course that whoever controlled the cash controlled the world. Even Presidents had to bend their policies to satisfy those who funded their campaigns.

Just as the plane was beginning to edge its way towards the runway, the ground shook violently as a small company of Mech's marched straight over the airport perimeter, a large Raptor Walker leading them, striding over the tanks and robots that flew up to meet them.

"We're well aware of what your group's been doing for the past hundred years." Okida told them over the com, a deep scowl over his face as he made a direct beeline for the plane. "Your reign of machinations is over." He slammed the foot of his Mech directly down in the path of the plane, forcing it to stop still. "I'm placing every last one of you bastards under arrest." All of them stared out the windows in dismay and disbelief as the large barrels of a mounted machine gun swerved around to meet them.

For the past century their group had been hiding in the shadows, affecting the course of the world's evolution with their misdirection's and not once had they been discovered, let alone defeated. This simply wasn't possible. Their ages old arrogance refused to accept the possibility that they lost.

They tried to evacuate the plane, but by then of course it was already too late. The other Mechs had surrounded them, cutting them off. Already now, their allies were marching through the city, clearing away anything with Eggman's symbol on it, the cheering from the freed British civilians spurring them on.

"You can't do this to us!" One of them screamed as G.U.N soldiers rushed on board with Topaz in the lead, hand cuffs suddenly becoming the latest fashion.

"We just did." Okida stated from still inside his Mech, keeping his guns on them. He was going to make sure these scum wasn't going to do the world any more damage then they already had.

"I don't suppose we'll be getting any credit for this." Hare remarked dryly as the three of them watched the action from nearly the smouldering ruins of the Four points artillery on the banks of the Thames River. "I don't care if this is the second D-Day. Our names won't be on the credits, and we just made it all possible." He added, reading Bean and Bark's sideways glances. The three of them had nearly drowned to bring that tower down and he doubted very much their names would be on the medals list.

"Hey who cares?" Bean stated with a smug grin. "We know it right? We're the real heroes here." That did little to comfort Hare who wanted, even for a few minutes, to bask in the glory that heroes like Sonic enjoyed nearly every day of the week. With the ground shaking under its footsteps, a large Yahger Mech marched out from the city, one large metal foot sinking into the Thames. From here, the pilot could see around over the roof tops. There was a lot of smoke and dust in the air and most of the buildings were crumbling but at least it was all free.

With the Elite now firmly under lock and key, Okida flipped on the com device so he could check in to see exactly how things were going on Operation: D-Day 2. It took a moment to get through the static but eventually he was tuned to the right frequency.

He smiled as he heard the reports coming in one by one, all saying nearly the same thing. Eggman Empire forces either destroyed or in full retreat.

Within moments, the President would be arriving at the liberated Heathrow airport to officially announce to the world on live TV that England had been re-taken. His political career had been counting on this.

* * *

0 

Chuck didn't even knock. Too annoyed, he simply kicked the door in. Inside the flat, Andre was busy packing a suitcase, hurriedly stuffing a dirty collection of clothes and papers into it. The man whirled around when he heard his door knocked open, his eyes wide and ragged from lack of sleep.

"You shouldn't be here." He told them both, turning back to his work ."They know Toriyama talked, they killed him because of it. They'll come for me next, you'll have lead them right to me!"

"Why?" chuck demanded stepping forward, grabbing Andre by his shirt. "Why would they come after you. What's your connection to Toriyama?"

"I can't talk! Toriyama paid with his life for talking!" Andre argued back, sweat running down his face, eyes wide with fear.

"You'll talk to me." Chuck assured him, narrowing his eyes menacingly. "How, who exactly are _'they'_?" Andre refused to speak, standing there paralysed with fear. Chris had never seen anyone so afraid, but his grandfather could make anyone talk if he needed to. Despite his old age, he had the gift of intimidation.

"Alright, alright." Andre began after a moment. "Toriyama was an honest man, whenever he wanted funds for hid digs he went to respectable museums or historical organisations. But on this one he was broke and had to turn to some other people to fund his work."

"Who?" Chuck asked.

"Hexagon." The terrified Italian replied. Chuck paused. Hexagon was a very large multi-national business organisation that filled the gap in the economy left by the collapse of the Foundation.

"But they're a new Technologies-company…" Chuck began looked puzzled. "Why would they take an interest in archaeology?"

"That's what Toriyama wondered, until he came across his first finds." Andre replied, backing away towards the sofa. He knelt down and a pulled a silver case out from under it. "What he discovered there was way beyond his expectations." He opened the second case and inside was an artefact the likes of which Chuck had never seen before. It was made completely of metal, rectangular shaped and about thick as a video tape. The edges of it were encrusted with rust, but Chuck could just make out several rune like images running vertically down the side. All highlighted red, but not by a paint like covering, but by the metal itself. Holes ran down the spine, obviously built to add wires and other attachments. This artefact was a machine. This must be the strange pieces Artimus had been talking about. "He unearthed this a few weeks ago, had it sent directly to me so they didn't know he'd excavated it."

"What is it?" Chris asked as his grandfather lifted it free of the container.

"I don't know." Andre admitted. "The metal itself doesn't match up to anything current on record, I can't tell you how old it is exactly but since it was found with the other artefacts Toriyama dug up at a rough guess I'd say over it's over two thousand years, maybe more." The artefact certainly didn't look at old, in fact it looked like something that should belong to the future then the past. "We guess this was why Hexagon funded the trip. All the other stuff and stacked up in crates and shipped off before it could be looked over."

"Yes we saw them." Chuck stated, remembering the large crates they saw at the site when they first arrived and how puzzled he'd been by them.

At his best guess, whoever created this strange artefact had access to a technology far in advance of anything that was currently available. This machine was the single most sophisticated piece of hardware he'd ever seen.

"Take it." Andre told them. "As long as Hexagon wants whatever this thing is, it's a curse." He turned back to his packing. "I'm out of here. The longer I wait, the more likely it is they'll find that Toriyama managed to a save a little piece of their treasure."

"So now what Grandpa?" Chris asked Chuck quietly. The old man shrugged.

"This is getting too dangerous. I say we take it and head home." By now, Andre had packed all off his stuff into his case and was hurriedly pulling on his jacket. "Wait…" Chuck called after him, but by then it was too late, the man had gone, a thin trail of underpants and socks leaking from a hole in his case.

* * *

- 

A fiery red glow engulfed the Icarus as it began falling down towards the blue planet, the blue of the sea becoming wide and wider. Shadow could instantly see what was happening. If the Icarus even survived the decent, it would be going to fast for an ordinary landed. The ship was going to crash, and nothing Tails could do at the controls would stop it.

A Chaos Control warp was the only thing that was going to help them now. Shadow had moved objects larger than this before. This should be no problem .

"Hold on tight." He told the others, taking hold of one of the pipes lining the wall and closing his eyes, humming to keep up his concentration. He tried to engulf the falling vessel in a warp, but found that every attempt he made was thrown off again and again.

"It's going too fast." Shadow told them, angry at his own failing. He could not teleport the ship, not while it was going through the atmosphere at this speed. Parts of the Icarus were already beginning to flake away. "I need more energy for something like this…" He turned and slapped the unconscious Sonic on the face. "Wake up Idiot. I need help here!" Sonic only lay there limply, beaten unconscious by his battle with the invading Metal Sonic. Shadow looked even more infuriated.

The earth below got bigger and bigger, highlighted by the atmospheric friction. The planets gravity had them now. There wasn't nearly enough fuel left in the engines to slow them down. The Icarus was on a free fall and gathering speed. As this rate, they'd collide with the Earth and end up a smouldering wreck in little under ten minutes. Plus there was the added danger the ship would come down somewhere populated. The Icarus itself wasn't big, but travelling at these speeds the crash would be lethal to anything within at least a mile of it.

"It's no good." Tails announced, flicking through the controls, finding that everything excepting minimal life support was offline. "She's going down. I can't stop her." Knuckles looked out the window. By now the Earth had eclipsed the entire line of sight. He could see patches of blue sky began to form around them as they fell. They were passing through the stratosphere now. The Echidna had wanted to return to the planet, but this wasn't actually what he had in mind.

"Sonic, now is an extraordinarily bad time for a nap!" Rouge snapped at the blue hedgehog that refused to even budge. He even began snoring. Whatever number had been done on him was a high one.

Shadow snarled and tried again; focusing whatever energy he had left over from his fight with Equinox into a Chaos Control. It still wasn't enough. The ship was falling too rapidly to allow then a teleport away from the ship. They were stuck here. Metal Sonic had put them in the perfect trap.

Amy stood there over Sonic's limp form, memories passing before her eyes. She remembered how lonely she'd been when he'd been put in a coma after the fight with the Biolizard. She couldn't face that again.

Perhaps Sonic had been right in his statement before. Perhaps she had changed over time. The Amy she had been a year ago would have freaked out, broken down crying. But she was not that Amy anymore. Participating in the blue hedgehog's adventures over the years had slowly but surly toughened her up, forcing her to keep a clear in the midst of chaos.

"Wake up you idiot!" She said with a mixture of frustration and intense worry and without another word, kissed him passionately on the lips. Something she had always wanted to do, but admittedly not under these circumstances. It was a trademark fairy tale trick, but it worked. Perhaps it was the fact that Sonic had been cut off from oxygen that made it work, she didn't care. Whatever the reason, the blue hedgehog's eyes shot open and he sat up, nearly head butting her as if thousands of volts of electricity had been passed through his body.

"Yeoow!" He exclaimed, almost on his feet in an instant. Shadow, who was not in the mood for a run around, grabbed Sonic by the shoulder and tugged him violently towards the cockpit before the blue hedgehog could start asking any questions.

"You see that?" He demanded, gesturing towards the surface of the rapidly approaching planet. "They're going to be peeling us off it for years to come unless you help me!" Sonic got the gist at once.

"Helping, right." He stammered in a blurred sentence, understanding what Shadow wanted of him at once.

"Tails, I'm going to try to teleport her above the Ocean. Has the Icarus enough shielding to survive a sea landing?"

"Should do." He replied, but his tone lacked the confident Shadow was looking for.

"Everyone back in the seats!" He yelled to the others, who were more than happy to oblige. This was going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. Sonic and Shadow each laid a hand against the walls, using the entire ship as a conduit through which their energy joined; a buzzing that past through their bodies, giving the Icarus a soft green glow in the process.

Encountering air, the ship shook violently as it fell. Half of the back breaking off, nearly leaving Omega stranded inside it, if he hadn't woken up in time and advanced into the next chamber, blocking it off to prevent the ship from burning up.

"Ready?" Shadow asked. Sonic gritted his teeth, pouring as much energy in the reserve of power he needed to pull this combined stunt off. Shadow was doing the same.

"Yeah." He replied once he was complete. Once again the techniques merged into one whole, the intense ripple of the dimension fabric tearing as Chaos Control took effect. The Icarus was bathed in white fire as it fell, a light that flared brightly for an instant before it disappeared. A faint trail of star like lights left behind it.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Metal Sonic was not at all surprised as he watched the falling ship disappear in a Warp. He knew Sonic would not be finished that easily. It simply wasn't his style not to go out with a bang. He looked down at the grey Chaos Emerald in his left hand. Today hadn't been about killing Sonic. All he really wanted from them at the present had been this. The first Chaos Emerald was his and soon all seven would be in his clutches, allowing him access to the strength he would need to destroy Sonic and start the age of the machine was he had originally set out to do. The Behemoth, his own battleship created using Doctor Eggman's own technology hovered in orbit. A gigantic creation, based of the design of the galleons of the 17th century. A design far superior to those often clumsy ships Eggman used. Not to mention twice was powerful as anything he could conceive.

Standing behind him on a level just below the platform that housed his metal throne were his four Generals. Four robots had had created one by one himself. Eggman had his Elite, why shouldn't he?

He called them Metal X. They were second only to him. He gave them orders and they in turn passed them onto the other robots. That was the chain of command on his ship, which required a certain amount of trust on Metal Sonic's part. He made it known to each them however, that if he so much as suspected them of betrayal he would tear them apart.

_"My lord."_ Lancelot, the third made of his Generals began approaching his side._ "We could have killed them then and there. We had the Chaos Emerald. Why didn't we just destroy them?"_ Each of his generals and their robot underlings were each suited to different types of combat. The robot clans served as a different division.

Lancelot's division specialised in space combat. It was this forces that lead the attack to retrieve the Chaos Emerald from the Icarus. Lancelot himself was sufficiently larger than his those of his clan, with a bulky torso and arms hiding a deadly arsenal of machine guns and missile rockets. Concealing this was knight like armour.

Inspired by the suits of armour that shielded the knights of the previous age, Metal Sonic created his Generals based on the simple, yet brilliant design.

_"Are you questioning my orders General?"_ He asked, giving the large robot a glare over his shoulder; the glow from his eyes intensifying. Lancelot hesitated before backing down._ "Sonic is my concern, not yours. You do what I tell you. Do not presume you are my advisors."_ He turned back to look at the planet below. _"How and when I kill him and his friends will my decision and mine alone."_

_"Of course my lord."_ Lancelot added with a respectful bow.

Apart from Equinox, leader of the ground forces Clan; his other two generals Leviathan and their leader, the first made of Metal X: The Dark Oak stood waiting.

Dark Oak was not as bulky as the theirs, but far taller, with samurai type armour and one large green eye placed directly in the centre of his face, two straight horns lancing out either side. A long black torn cape flowed out from behind a pair of large sharp shoulder pads. Clad in a sheath at his side was a curved golden scimitar type blade. He was the deadliest of Metal Sonic's generals, with powers close to rivalling that of Metal Sonic himself. Leader of the Air force clan, he the most respected leader in the robotic hedgehog's new empire; the Machine Federation.

_"The second Emerald will soon be within my grasp, my Lord."_ He began. _"And the third I have already located."_ Of all his Generals. Dark oak was the most competent and loyal. Like Metal Sonic, he hated organic life forms with a passion.

_"You do fine work Dark Oak." _The large machine lowered his head in respect. The three other generals glared at him jealously._ "Equinox, your clan is to retrieve that second Emerald. As for the third, Dark Oak and myself shall take it tomorrow morning at 0800 hours..."_ Metal Sonic folded his arms, his half eclipsed eyes narrowing. _"Now leave me."_ Pausing only long enough to bow, they all left the chamber.Sonic had best enjoy this reprieve. It would not last long. Once all seven Chaos Emeralds belonged to the Machine Federation, their power would unlock the artefacts required to ensure it's victory. Machines would take their rightful place, as rulers of the world and perhaps in time; the entire universe.

_"Stop hiding the Shadows." _Metal Sonic stated, turning to back at the darkness behind him over his shoulder. There was silence for another second, before a figure clad in a robe concealing his body advanced into the faded light emanating from the windows.

"Enjoying yourself are you?" The figure asked, the annoying hint of amusement setting Metal Sonic on edge. "I was watching your fight with the Hedgehog." He added. "Strange that you did not kill him when you had the chance. Why was that?"

_"As I told my generals, when and how I kill him with be my choice." _The robotic hedgehog told him, turning around to face the mysterious intruder._ "Now, what do you want?"_ Metal could almost feel the robed figure smiling, the kind of smile one gained from being on the richer end of a business transaction.

"I'm just here to remind you of your fragile time limit Metal Sonic." He began slowly. "Keep in mind that there are others searching for the treasure you seek and they will include Sonic before too long I'm sure." He stepped closer, gesturing with a long shrivelled white arm towards the robot. "If you want your Federation to be a success, then I strongly suggest you quicken your pace." Metal Sonic laughed.

_"The power I need to activate it can only come from the seven Chaos Emeralds. See the beginnings of my labours."_ He left the grey Emerald aloft for his guest to see. _"Even if they find it, without the emeralds it is worse than useless."_ The figure grunted loudly.

"Don't be so sure Metal Sonic. It may surprise you." The robotic hedgehog's blood red eyes regarded him suspiciously.

_"What game are you playing?"_ He asked, gesturing towards him threateningly with one metal talon. _"Why even help me at all?"_

"My motives are my own. As are yours." Was the flat, almost hostile reply. Metal Sonic was instantly suspicious. Not that had hadn't been from the very moment he laid eyes on his benefactor. Metal did not like being manipulated, let alone controlled. If this fool sought to use him, he was in for a very rude shock. "You know should better than to ask."

"You're are beginning to try my patience."

"Oh I'm shaking in my boots." His tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Threats do not work with me Metal Sonic. I'm not someone you can control through intimidation."

_"__Get out of my sight."_ Metal snapped, firing a bolt of chaos energy across the room, impacting near his enemies feet; a large scorch mark left stained on the floor.

"As you wish." The visitor began with a mocking bow. "But remember, wherever you go; I will not be too far behind." With that, he disappeared back into the darkness.

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Behemoth

Description: Metal Sonic's battleship, the great vessel belonging to The Machine Federation.


	18. Episode 9, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name; Lancelot

Description: Second of Metal X

* * *

The air twisted and bent, shockwaves heading out in all directions as the Icarus came souring out of the Chaos Control warp, her engines on fire. Streaking across the sky, the ship went hurtling downwards towards the ocean below. 

"I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying!" Knuckles kept repeating to himself over and over again, biting his lower lip. Tails was desperately trying to keep the nose of the ship up. If he let it fall at this point they'd ricochet of the surface of the sea and break up.

With a collision that shook the entire ship, the bottom of the Icarus skidded across the face, hoping like a cast rock from the shore, thick spray throwing out behind it.

"Ah crap!" Shadow cursed, staring out the window. Tails was unable to control the direction of the ship and it was quickly approaching the shore of a small island, the golden sands of a beech flying forward to meet them.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" Tails yelled, putting the ship into what remained of auto-pilot and putting his head between his legs. Slamming into the water one last time, the Icarus skated through the swallows and up onto the beach, before finally colliding with a thick jungle just inland, trees falling before them as the space ship carved through the ground, gently slowing until finally coming to a stop. Steam and smoke steadily rising from what remained of the engines.

"Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle until the ride has come to a complete stop." Sonic began, before falling over in exhaustion.

Knuckles brought his fist to bear and hammering the airlock door Shadow had welded shut, letting in the fresh air, a tree branch and swung around and hit him in the face.

"Ah, what is Chuck going to say when he sees this?" Tails asked in horror, staring at the Icarus from the outside, completely entangled in vines, her back half broken away and most of her paintwork scorched off. A few fragments that belonged to the wings were scattered off towards the beach. The ship had torn across the sands and through the undergrowth, leaving a wide ditch leading to the ocean. "He didn't even it insured!"

After a quick recon, they discovered that the island was a remote location with no land in sight for miles in any direction. It was short, probably no more than a mile in width, a large coral reef highlighting the waters for some distance. Apart from a few grazing animals, it was deserted.

Shadow jumped up onto the top of the crashed ship and looked around over the canopy of trees.

"I can go and get help by Chaos Control." He murmured almost under his breath as the blue hedgehog joined him . "But I need to know where we are first."

"Tails is working on it." Sonic replied. He was silent for a minute, before voicing what was on his mind. "It was Metal Sonic, Shadow." He stated almost reluctantly.

"I know." The black and red hedgehog sighed , folding his arms. "Whatever the reason, he's our enemy again Sonic. Try to remember that."

"But…" The blue hedgehog began but Shadow cut him off.

"He tried to kill you. He stole our Chaos Emerald and left us to burn in the atmosphere." It could not be denied. The painful bruising in Sonic's arms and legs refused to let him forget it. Sonic knew he had to accept the truth, that the Metal Sonic he called friend was gone, but he couldn't. not just like that.

Metal Sonic had overcome his programming, become truly sentient. He sacrificed everything to save Sonic and Shadow from the Biolizard. And now this new enemy stood in his place, a being just as evil as Eggman and twice as ruthless. "You need to remember that if he gets the change, he'll kill you." Shadow told him, welding the fact well into Sonic's mind. "You can try to talk to him, but I doubt he'll listen." Sonic clenched his fists. He had tried to reason with Metal Sonic himself, but it hadn't worked.

"So now what?" Knuckles asked, climbing up onto the top of the Icarus with them, his quills still messed up from the crash. "Was he just fooling us all this time?" Sonic looked u sharply.

"No." He stated almost angrily. "He told me someone got to his body, rebuilt it and reprogrammed him." He smashed a fist into an open palm suggestively. "When I find out who it was, they're dead."

Every system on the Icarus was dead. Navigation, weapons, life-support, even an emergency power supply. Most of the circuits were burnt rendered completely useless. Nothing seemed to respond at all. Finally Tails gave up trying to revive any of the ships systems and then began a salvage operation, hoping there was enough intact hardware left to build something useful.

Hours began to tick away and all the fox had been able to salvage from the ship were a few workable boards, nothing worthy enough to bring even one of the ship's system back online. Finally he was forced to accept it, the ship of a corpse.

"How's it going?" Sonic asked at one time after they managed to pry Omega out from the crushed wreckage of one of the cargo chambers. The android actually seemed annoyed that they left him captive there for so long. After being freed he marched right out towards the shoreline and stood there. He'd been was silent as a statue for over an hour now.

"I lost the patient." Tails was forced to admit, finally giving up on hooking together some wires and left them to disintegrate into charred ash. "It's completely dead, it'd be easier for me to make a new one from scratch." He leaned back in the pilot's seat, which finally gave and collapsed from underneath him. "Don't worry." he added picking himself back up. "I'll be able to turn what I can salvage into something useful by the end of the day."

More hours passed until just after noon and still Tails kept running into dead ends with what he was forced to work with. Occasionally Rouge came to take his place when it became obvious the strain of getting nowhere was beginning to take it's toll on him.

Shadow, as usual sat alone some distance from the others down the beach on a large rock jutting out over the shallows. The black and red hedgehog preferred his own company, the notion of being part of a crowd seemed alien and strange to him. Even on ARK he had stood out from the others, a loner, someone who depended on no one to give him strength. While Sonic was like him in many ways, there was one fundamental difference between them.

Shadow didn't burden himself with companions.

Even if Sonic and his group might be the closest thing that Shadow had that could be considered friends, the black and red Hedgehog kept himself apart. Not because he disliked their company but out of principle and pride.

Tikal however didn't seem to get the message. The female Echidna sat nearby silently trailing her bare feet in the waters of a rock pool. Ever since they had started back from the ARK she had kept herself close to him, like some frightened child clinging to a parent. Tikal seemed nothing like a frightened child however; she had confronted him and played with his emotions. Unlike so many, she was not frightened of him. On the country, if anything she seemed curious of his very existence.

While Shadow was a self confessed loner on principle, he didn't protest to her dogging his heals. He doubted she would listen to him and strangely the notion of teleporting where she couldn't follow forced a pit into his stomach.

Irritated, he turned to look down at her. She had her back to him and was gazing innocently at the water's surface, giggling now and then as the small trapped fish swam between her toes.

To Shadow's eyes, the world was a harsh place full of hatred, anger, betrayal and greed. Where darkness dwarfed the light and any notion of good intentions was swallowed up or destroyed by those with power. To see innocence in a world like that, so carefree and happy was an improbability. Yet he could see it right there before his very eyes.

This girl had seen just as much horror and destruction as he had and yet there she was, playing like a child like an insignificant rock pool. Confused, he turned away and gazed out to sea. The waves were slowly washing over the flawless beach, foam washing ashore near the rocks that lined the island to the north with the occasional hermit crab waddling upwards out of the depths. The scene had the desired calming effect he had been looking for and he relaxed, melting out of his sitting position until he lay on his back with his arms behind his head.

It was on rare moments like this he could forget who he was and what he had been through. When he could simple be nothing, an empty shell staring up at the empty sky. For about a minute it endured, before a familiar face leaned over him. Shadow levelled both eyes as Tikal looked down at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"I didn't think you knew how to relax." She began as if she'd known him all his life. He grunted and flipped over so he faced away. "Hey I wasn't trying to insult you." She added, trying to gain his attention. He ignored her and kept his back turned. "Some ultimate life-form you are, if you're this sensitive to a comment." Tikal sighed angrily, crossed her arms and sat down on the rock with her back to him as well.

Shadow looked back over his shoulder, his eyes troubled. Why did this girl match him so perfectly? She was as different from him as he could imagine but in some strange way their conflicting personalities and egos managed to fit together to form one whole.

"Why do you take an interest in whether I relax or not?" He asked her without turning. "What difference does it make to you?" She looked back with a coy smile on her face.

"What, shouldn't I care Shadow?" She asked slyly, running her fingers through her Dreadlocks. "You play the part of the lone wolf very well. But in your heart, I can tell you're jealous." He gestured over towards Sonic and the others. Cream and Emerl were playing in the shallows, kicking up a good deal of spray and foam. Sonic himself was lying further up the beach with his eyes closed, basking in the sunlight trying to get a tan. He was probably asleep. Amy was sitting nearby as usual in awe of the blue hedgehog. Rouge was still trying to get Knuckles to sunbathe with her. Knuckles himself was pacing the beach, probably muttering something about not getting back to the Master Emerald. Finally Rouge gave up trying to talk to him but instead simply tackled him to the ground, the two of them rolling into the water.

Shadow could hear Knuckles' angry ranting from here, but after a moment they died down and were quickly replaced by mutual laughter.

"Jealous?" Shadow repeated with a short laugh. "Of them, what for?" Tikal leaned closer, violating his personal space.

"They know to have fun even when a crisis looms on the horizon, all you do is sit on your own clad in the belief you're better then they are." She told him in 'as-a-mater-of-fact-'voice. "I mean, would it kill you to get down of your high horse for ten minutes and actually live?" He turned to stare at her complete. He wore a mask of disinterest but in his eyes Tikal could clearly make out the unmistaken presence of wanting, no in fact a need. She had always known that Shadow bottled himself up but now she had had to adapt that theory. Shadow didn't want company, he needed it.

He had shut the doors to his heart a long time ago and nothing went in or out of it. As such what was still inside festered and grew stagnant like water trapped in a pool.

The only thing preventing Shadow from going over there and having a good time like the rest of them was his pride. His unfaltering belief that as the ultimate life-form he should live away from other people and hence his name, only exist in their shadows.

A sudden impish thought pushed its way into the female Echidna's mind and she blushed inwardly. If Shadow would not open up for them, then perhaps given enough time he could open up for her.

Shadow turned away and looked back out to see, resting his arms on his knees. What she had said had sunk in deeper then he could ever admit. Again she had carved her way through his mental defences like they weren't even there and struck hard at his heart. The day Maria died; as his escape pod fell away from the ARK he sealed himself off from everything and everybody else, becoming emotionless as a hunk of ice. Since then, the healing process had begun but the deepest wound, the one caused by the pain of seeing his only friend die, time could never heal. Tikal could never expect that of him and he could never expect that from himself. But perhaps, she had a point. What good was sitting here doing nothing? He was supposed to be the Ultimate life form, the perfect organism. Yet still he found himself incapable of enjoying himself without his thoughts drifting back to the world he lost long ago. No one, not even Prof. Gerald's greatest creation could live like that forever.

Swallowing his pride for a moment, he turned back towards Tikal and smiled.

"Want to play a game?" he asked. That question caught the female Echidna of guard and she blinked in surprise. "It's called, catch the annoying Echidna. You've got a ten second head start." With that he flipped back to his feet and raised his arms in a feigned attempt at being scary. Tikal giggled and dropped off the rock to the beach, making a bee line along the coast.

After a moment, Shadow started after her and the laughter could be heard all the way to the crash Icarus.

"You hear that?" Amy asked sitting up, looking up towards the rock Shadow had been sitting on a moment ago, now deserted. Sonic, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses, sat up briefly casting a glance in that direction before a smile spread over his face.

"Tikal's just flirting with Shadow." He replied as if it was nothing at all and lay back down.

"Flirting?" Amy repeated, looking up in utter surprise.

"Yep." The blue hedgehog chuckled with a large grin. "And the guy doesn't even realize it." Amy blinked and stared off in that direction. The sounds of laughter were still echoing across the canopy of the trees towards them.

Tikal, flirting with Shadow? Shadow of all people! He was like a solid wall of ice, frozen, cold and completely immoveable. The female Echidna must have some kind of empathic power, that's the only way it was physically possible for that to happen. Or perhaps she had some kind of sure fire technique to gain entry to any heart.

They said the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, yet Amy had stuffed Sonic with enough food to flatten an elephant and the guy would still keep running.

_Running…_Amy looked back again. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but after a moment she could make out the game the two of them were playing. Some that involved a lot of running about. Finally, she understood. It was one of the things Shadow and Sonic had in common. They liked to run.

Being the two fastest beings on this planet it was understandably, still that left Amy with a problem. That problem being she could never hope to run as fast as Sonic.

"Amy…" Sonic began. The pink hedgehog looked down at him. Sonic rolled up to a sitting position, removing his sunglasses, once gone she could see the doubt in his eyes. "Metal Sonic's the strongest enemy I could ever face. Even if I get the best of him, I can't destroy him." She put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

"I know." She told him. "I don't think any of us could."

"Shadow might." Sonic replied, looking down at the sand between his feet. "He may not like it, but he will if he has to." Shadow had already made it quite clear that if there was no other way, if Metal Sonic refused to back down, if Sonic couldn't reach him then the black and red Hedgehog would destroy him and without a second thought to it.

What frightened Sonic the most out of all that was he didn't think he could talk Metal Sonic out of being a bad guy again.

Over time, the blue hedgehog came to regard Metal was a vital member of their group and a good friend. Like Emerl and Omega, he broke Eggman's programming but unlike the two of them, actually gained his own unique personality. In redemption for his selfish acts that lead to the near destruction of Station Square, he took a full blast from the revived Biolizard, sparing Sonic and Shadow's lives.

Someone had gotten to his salvaged remains after that and revived his dark side, the power hungry Metal Sonic willing to do anything to achieve total domination. Time and again Sonic had put down attempts by Eggman and other lunatics whose ambition was the same. But this time it was different. This time he was fighting a friend. And this time, he doubted he would have little choice by to fight to the death.

"Hey Omega." Tails called down to the robot from the window of the ships cockpit, which by now was encrusted with vines and other debris of flora, whose large pivoted head rotated to stare directly up at him. "Wait there a second; I need your help with something." The young fox turned and picked something up before climbing out of the window. Slowly drifting out as his twin limbs spun out behind him. The device in his hands was a make shift machine with about a thousand loose wires and jagged ends sticking out all over the place. Tails had had to work with what he had. There was very little intact hardware left in the ship at all.

_"Designate Omega requests explanation of device."_ The android began, thrusting a large metal finger rather rudely towards it.

"It's a global positioning system." Tails explained, holding it higher for Omega's large red eyes to see. "I had to dig it out of the Icarus' charred motherboard. I should be able to use it to tell where in the world we are, maybe even send a message for a pick up of some kind." The large robot studied the device carefully for a moment, his large eyes scanning the twisted surface.

_"It lacks an energy source."_ Omega stated. Tails forged a large smirk.

"That's where you come in."

It took a while, but eventually Tails had wired running directly from Omega's miniature fusion reactor into his new device.

"You're using Omega as a battery?" Rouge asked sceptically as the young fox called them over, adding a few last minute touches. By the time had had everything set up correctly hours had passed and sunset was nearly over, the white edges of the moon beginning to peek over the horizon.

"Only for a minute. He's the only thing around here with an intact power source." Tails explained, finalizing the connections. There was a loud buzzing sound as it came online, several lights all over its surface lighting up.

"Ok then here we go." The fox began the readouts from the small device he had beginning to accumulate on the miniature screen. "We're in luck, one of the few remaining surveillance satellites is passing overhead, we're on an un-named island just off the eastern Brazilian Shore Line, North Easy of the Amazon River mouth."

"Fine." Shadow remarked. Now he knew where this place was he could do something about it. He crossed his arms before his entire body was engulfed by a small Chaos Control warp and he disappeared. Tikal smirked before fading into nothingness after him.

"Now there's nothing we can do expect sit and wait." Tails added, sitting down on the beech, watching the moon steadily rise on the horizon.

"Waiting, again?" Sonic asked in annoyance, running his hands through his quills. Chaos Control could have easily teleported them off this place, but Tails insisted on staying so G.U.N could help him transport the crashed spaceship back for drastically needed repairs.

"I hope you know what's coming Sonic." Knuckles began, joining the blue hedgehog by his side as the two of them stood near the shoreline; Sonic himself keeping a safe distance from the water's edge.

"I know." Sonic muttered, folding his arms; staring out to sea. "I don't have to like it, but I know." Metal Sonic would, after all, have it no other way.

Now that the evil Metal Sonic they thought had disappeared had returned, the confrontation between the blue hedgehog and his robotic counterpart was inevitable. They were going to fight and in all likelihood, one of them would not survive.

* * *

- 

The searing cold of the Tibetan mountains stung Eggman's face as he gazed angrily out across the wasteland of the Egg Carrier's crash sight. This glorious ship, already torn to pieces had been all but destroyed on Impact. All many of smouldering parts lay scattered through the snow rendered completely unusable. It would take man power the likes of which he did not possess to move the Egg Carrier out of here. Now he was cut off from the rest of his army. Without the ships com systems up and running, he couldn't even send a distress signal to the Egg Moon.

Salvaging what they could from the wreckage, Becoe and Decoe were beginning construction of a small vehicle they could use to return to the moon. It was make shift, but it should get them there. Still, the slow progress caused by the cold was beginning to set Eggman's nerves alight.

Still, the crash hadn't been entirely bad. It had allowed him to locate a precious item. He looked down the fist sized Chaos Emerald in his left hand, glowing a powerful blood red. This at least had lessened his losses.

Strutting back inside the camp put up just beyond the confines of the Egg Carrier's large wing, Eggman shock himself down to rid himself of the snow. The camp was just a large green tent packed with salvaged equipment; two large Dreadnaughts stood guard outside. The only heat came from a single electric fire nearby.

"This is taking far too long." He told his two hence bots, who kept working on the small space ship that would take all three of them back up into space, once the blizzard stopped blowing.

_"We're doing our best Doctor."_ Becoe stated. "_Without the aid of Technician badniks, we're making pretty good time."_

"Well I advise you to move it." The doctor snapped. "G.U.N could have picked up our position by now. I don't want to spend the rest of my life rotting in one of their cells." Without warning a loud shot rang out and one of the Dreadnaughts exploded in a firestorm of melted metal. Eggman covered his facer as fragments went flying into the other. The second machine raised its right arm ready to fire at something, both another explore tore through that was well. The scolded metal corpse swayed for a moment, before collapsing into the snow.

"What is this?" Eggman demanded, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing a laser rifle. There was a sudden thud before some invisible force tore the tent off from the ground, sending it flying into the winds. The cold snow lashing at him, Eggman strained through the veil to see a large dark shape flying overhead, thousands of blinking lights showing it to be a flying Battleship. Not as long as his Egg Carrier had been but large enough to possess a very serious problem. The word, BEHEMOTH was engraved on its bow near an ugly Dragon like figurehead made of metal. A large lock down door on the underside opened up instantly, several dark shapes flying out coming straight at them.

As they got closer, he could tell they were robots, but the like had had never seen before. They weren't of G.U.N make, but neither were they his own creations. They flew past him, encircling their group in moments, large nasty looking weapons pointed forward. With a soft thud, a large robot landed nearby. Taller than the rest, clad in purple samurai type armour, with long shoulder pads, one large green optic directly in the centre of its head and a long flowing grey cape out behind it.

_"Greetings Doctor Eggman."_ It began, striding forward. Eggman raised his rifle ready to fire but before he could blink, the robot tore a sword out from a scabbard at its waist slicing his own weapon in half. The scientist staggered backwards staring in horror. _"The Chaos Emerald if you please."_ It asked, extending an open hand forward.

"What Chaos Emerald?" Eggman began, deciding to play dumb.

_"Don't try my patience human."_ The tip of the blade passed beneath his chin, glinting in the parched sunlight. _"I know you have it. Hand it over, or you die."_ Left with those extremely limited options, Eggman reluctantly reached into his jacket and took out the Red Chaos Emerald. The robot snatched it away from him, before smacking him squarely on the face, forcing him onto his back in the snow. Decoe and Becoe were instantly at his side.

"Leave the Doctor Alone!" Becoe snapped as the two of them put themselves in harms way." Without warning a low rumbling began echoing throughout the blizzard, an amused chuckle that set Eggman's nerves on fire. Descending out of the glom came on his worst nightmares, the robot he built to destroy Sonic, who turned on his creator in an attempt to seize power. Metal Sonic himself. Eggman screamed like a little girl and backed off to a safe distance as the robotic hedgehog landed next to the first tall robot.

_"I gave you a chance to join the machines true cause before; I won't so charitable this time."_ Metal Sonic stated, jabbing a finger at the two robots. Then he caught sight of the Chaos Emerald grimly in his General's grasp._ "Ah, you do good work Dark Oak."_

_"I exist to serve you my lord."_ The taller robot stated, kneeling down and presenting his master with the Emerald. Metal Sonic took the jewel into both hands, admiring it almost greedily. _"What do we do with the human?"_ The robotic hedgehog cast his creator a side glance.

_"Destroy him."_ Was the simple reply, as he turned away and leapt into the air; travelling the long distance back up towards the Battleship above, disappearing into the blizzard. Dark Oak gestured to his troops, who cocked their rifles and aimed them directly at Eggman's head. With no time to loose, the doctor drew back his sleeve and pressed a button on his wrist watch.

Eggman knew of his own shortcomings and prepared traps against them. What weapons system were left on the Egg Carrier's wing turned the barrels of their turrets directly at the aggressors and open fired, the air instantly filled with bullets and missile fire. Several robots fell down to the snow, ridded with holes, others blown to smithereens. In the confusion, Eggman and his two robots made a run for their vehicle. The two of them tried to explain it wasn't ready but their creator wasn't listening. He simply jumped in the driving seat and slammed his fist down on the ON button.

(In Chris' voice)

Has Eggman been replaced as the new bad guy around? Will Metal Sonic ever be a good guy again? Whose that guy he was talking to? And what is that strange thing Chuck and Chris have now? Find out next time on the start of the Metal X Saga, The Spider's Web. Don't miss it!

* * *

**End of Saga notes:**

Not bad? I hope so; Sonic's Shuffle's original plot was pretty awful so I had to salvage what I could from it. A Mario party spoof at best.

Now Metal Sonic's back as the latest bad guy. Does he ever become good again? Well…I'm not giving anything away at this early point. But the fate I have planned for him may surprise a few people. I like to throw people surprise.

As for Hexagon: They are a Sonic based thing. To see them, go on Sonic Heroes and play the city levels. One some of the signs, you see Hexagon's symbol.

Who'se that guy in the robe Metal Sonic was talkign to? Could it be Krish? Or someone else? I'm telling you nothing! You wanna find out, wait like everyone else!

Anyway: Void's major part in the story is over, buthis legacy will float around for a while. In what form you ask? Well wait and find out!

Now, I'm sure many people have heard that the official second series of Sonic X has been confirmed. I don't mind being proven wrong on this point and from what I've seen, they're putting a lot more effort into this new season then they did the last on. Chris is back in it andhe's less of a pain then he was the last time.

Anyway, in the coming saga's I'll be trying to adapt a few things from the new series. **(Hey no shame in that, if it's good enough that I think it's worth using then the writers behind the series are actually trying for a change.)**


	19. Episode 10

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

The Metal X Saga

* * *

Episode 10: The Spider's Web

Sonic hadn't said a word all day. Even now he sat slightly at the table, gently poking his food with a plastic fork; a miserable look on his face. It hadn't been the beating he'd suffered that had left him so empty but rather the fact that one of his greatest foes had returned from the death of one of his closest friends.

Okida had had to confirm it but Metal Sonic's remains **_had_** been stolen from the base they were kept at. The base itself came under attack from within at the same time and the intruder made off with the robotic hedgehog's body after demolishing the armoury.

What happened to Metal Sonic after all became pretty obvious. His space ship attacked the Icarus, ransacking their ride and stealing the Chaos Emerald that Void had given them. The sense of loss Sonic felt was not a direct result of the theft, nor the near demolition of the Icarus, but rather the loss of the Metal Sonic he called a friend.

The blue hedgehog; along with Amy, Tails, Rouge and Knuckles all sat in a Fish and Chip shop somewhere on the outside edges of Station Square. Most of the city was abandoned, crumbling into ruins after the assaults made by the Egg Fleet and later the revived Biolizard; but on the outer edges, a few had returned to try and return life to the ghost town. There had been Government funded plans to rebuild the city, but after constant attacks people were apprehensive about living there. So most of the buildings had been abandoned to an encroaching forest.

"Come on Sonic, it wasn't your fault." Amy began, growing tired on his uncharacteristic silence. "Whoever took Metal Sonic did something with his head, made him bad again." Sonic didn't reply, in fact he just remain slumped on the table with his eyes wandering slowly across the room. He knew deep down that he would have to face Metal again soon and that fight would be to the death.

"What I don't understand is why he took the Chaos Emerald." Rouge mused looking thoughtful, placing her fore finger and thumb on her chin. "The Emeralds are sources of power so he has to be up to something with them. Question is, did he just settle for the one he took from us or is he going after the other six?"

Tails, who was stuffing his face with a large portion offries tried to say something but with his mouth full it came out as a garbled mess.

"Stop, swallow, start again." Knuckles muttered, leaning on the table with a flat expression on his face. Tails paused and finished his mouthful before repeating what he had tried to say.

"I said, 'if he is after the rest, then he'll be coming for that one we won at the Emerald Grand prix." Amy looked up.

"I'd forgotten about that." She admitted, scratching the back of her head. The purple Chaos Emerald had been her prize for racing against Egg Robo in the finals and winning. Sonic would have gone head to head again Metal Knuckles, had Void not sucked them into Radiant Emerald to play a part in his escape. The Emerald itself was stashed safely back at Tails workshop in the Mystic Ruins, locked inside his underground laboratory in a sealed vault. But to be truthful, if Metal Sonic was after the Emeralds and he knew where that one was, he'd tear the entire place apart himself to get it.

Knuckles gave Sonic a side glance. The blue hedgehog was still moping around looking depressed. Having taken as much of this as he could stand, he growled angrily.

"Alright, that's it." The red Echidna muttered standing up and grabbing Sonic by the shoulders. Before anyone could stop him, he drew his large hand back and slapped him across the face. The painfully strong slap seemed to wake the blue hedgehog up as he blinked, forged an angry frown before rebounding off the table and smashing a kick directly into Knuckles' stomach.

The blow didn't hurt Knuckles that much, but he staggered back well out of range anyway.

"You bastard!" Sonic muttered, rubbing the side of his face with one hand. "What the hell was that for?"

"Pull yourself together Sonic," The red Echidna replied, dusting himself off. "Stop feeling sorry and get back to the real world." Sonic faltered. "Metal Sonic's bad guy, fine we've established that. No about of moping is going to change the fact."

"I know." Sonic sighed, sitting back down. "But I don't have to like it."

"Knuckles seems on edge." Amy commented. Rouge just shrugged.

"He's just upset because he returned to the Master Emerald yesterday and it told him to go right back here to help us." She laughed. The echidna balled his fist and sat down, grumbling quietly to himself; one of his eyes twitching in implied aggressive insanity.

"Well if he is after the Chaos Emeralds, he'll want this one." Tails remarked trying to change the subject back, holding up the newspaper his chips had been wrapped in. On the front page was a picture of a museum in San Francisco. According to the report, a Chaos Emerald had been retrieved by one of their expeditions to South Africa and placed on display inn their rare artefacts section. Since it was a colour newspaper they could see that it was the green Chaos Emerald they had retrieved. It sat inside a glass case surrounded by security cameras, intra-red sensors and with two armed guards standing on either side.

"That won't stop Metal Sonic if he goes after it." Sonic commented after Tails handed him the greasy paper. Metal Sonic was now stronger than any of them. He'd tear those security measures to pieces killing anyone who got in his way to get that Emerald if he wanted it.

"Come on guys, this is all speculation." Rouge stated, resting her elbows on the table with a weary sigh. "Until he makes another move we have no way of knowing what he wants and how he intends to do it." Sonic growled under his breath. Waiting was not his style.

"Once I get back to my workshop I'll try to get the Icarus up and running. With the ship we should be able to head after his Behemoth." Tails added, before stuffing his mouth with the rest of the fries. The ship had been toyed off the Island it crashed on and transported to his workshop. Chuck, who had just returned from Italy nearly had a fit when he saw the condition his precious prototype had been brought back in.

"Ever heard of something called a fork?" Amy asked giving him a side glance. Tails just ignored her and kept eating with his hands. The smell of good food finally luring him, Sonic munched on a few things; but found that he wasn't as hungry as he should be. He had far too much on his mind to concentrate on eating.

Someone had done something to make Metal Sonic this way and there had to be a reason why. Whoever it, it couldn't have been Eggman. He was too busy up near the ARK. So, if it hadn't been him; then who else possessed the know how to reprogram the robotic hedgehog?

"Well, ask and you shall receive." A voice stated as the front door opened and Okida, Major of Freelance Division strode it with a proud look on his face. Under one arm he was carrying a bunch of paper clipped together. Since the bat had been able to verify that Metal Sonic had been stolen from one of their bases Sonic asked if he try his best to find out who it was who did the stealing.

"Got something?" Rouge asked as her superior officer took up one of the vacant seats beside them. "Or are you smiling smugly for no reason?" Okida's smile simply widened at the remark.

"It seems whoever broke into our base was a professional." He stated folding his arms. "Was able to tip toe around even our most advanced security features, then he hit our armoury with everything he had before we knew what was even going on. Luckily for us, he slipped up."

"Slipped?" Sonic repeated with a raised eyebrow. Okida handed the blue hedgehog the papers he had brought with him. They included some documents, read outs that Sonic did not understand and a single printed out picture.

"One of our security camera's managed to get a shot of his face, and I've been able to ID the guy." Sonic didn't need him to continue. The face on the picture was more than familiar. "He's a fired thug known in the criminal underworld as..."

"Fang." Sonic stated in contempt completing Okida's statement for him. Tails' looked up in alarm. His own encounter with the ruthless mercenary had not been pleasant. Fang the Sniper, while hired by Eggman to assassinate Sonic, captured Tails in an attempt to use him as bait to lure Sonic out into the open.

"You know him?" The Major asked in surprise.

"We know him alright." Amy began, proceeding to launch into an account of their misadventure with him. Okida put a fore finger and thumb to his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Sounds like the kind of guy I wouldn't want to meet." He began leaning back in his chair. "I tried to find out more about this guy but it seems there's little to go on. He values his privacy a lot I think, I can't find a single record of him anywhere in our national records. No address, no medical insurance. Not even a pet registration. The guy lives of the grid completely."

"Try searching under his real name." Sonic began.

"And that would be…"

"Nack the Weasel." Another voice stated. Espio the Chameleon, a member of the Chaotix detective agency became visible again, standing beside Knuckles, who was so startled he nearly leapt out of his seat with his fists raised. "He used to be a member of our group, until he betrayed us to a crime lord and killed one of our number." Fang the Sniper had belonged to Chaotix back when Mobius and Earth were two separate worlds. Years ago however he betrayed them, leading them into a trap by their enemies. Then he killed Mighty, one of their youngest members in cold blood.

"We'll find him." Espio stated before any of them could actually say anything. "Chaotix and Nack have a long out standing debt to settle."

"We'll be needing him alive." Sonic began quickly, seeing the blood lust quietly veiled behind the chameleons eyes. "Fang wouldn't take Metal Sonic's remains for his own sake, someone paid him to do it and I want to know who. So bring him back breathing." A brief flash of disappointment crossed Espio's face. Everyone looked at Okida, expecting him to argue. Fang had been involved in a theft of G.U.N property so they expected him to tell them it was a Government investigation.

"Go on, fine." He told them when he noticed some sideways glances his way. "It would save me the trouble and I've got enough as it is trying to get relief aid into liberated Britain."

"How's that going?" Tails asked. Okida groaned.

"Badly. Eggman left the country in a terrible state and any technology we could salvage was destroyed in the fighting. It'll take decades to get the place back to normal, if it ever does. Most of the cities are ghost towns." That had been putting it mildly. Once the borders were open again, refugees began flooding back across the channel into France, far many than the country could actually cope with. Authorities were being forced to find accommodation for all of them. The entire situation was a mess, but at least it wasn't an Eggman controlled place anymore and Okida supposed that was something to be thankful for. He had been reliably informed people would prefer to wait in refuge camps as free men and women instead as slaves in a mind staggering corrupt regime.

"I heard you captured some of Eggman's supporters." Rouge asked with a side glance. Okida's melancholy look melted away, replaced by a wide grin.

"Not some of them, all of them! I caught them trying to run away as the boys were knocking on their front door." Rouge clapped mockingly. "They're all still confident that their bribed lackeys and weasly lawyers will bail them out or look the other way; but not this time. I've got enough evidence to sink a battleship; not to mention a few signed confessions. Even all the lawyers in the world can't save out now. Every one of them is going down for a very long time."

"How long?" Tails asked.

"How does forever sound?"

* * *

- 

How she managed to keep up with him was a mystery that puzzled Shadow to no end. Out in the middle of the wilderness, miles from civilisation the black and red Hedgehog found himself wandering across a cold mountain top towards the faint green of a jungle in the distance. He had to general direction in mind; he was just seeing how long the female Echidna could keep up with him before he lost her altogether. Her ability to follow him even over the more rugged terrain was admittedly impressive.

Finally he stopped skating across the snow and began waiting on top of a large rock jutted out into the air. A few moments later she arrived, walking through the thick banks of snow like they were nothing. She was small and appeared near helpless and yet the powerful elements around them did little to hinder her progress. She looked up towards realizing that he was waiting for her.

At the base of the mountain was a small ski-resort with a set of cable cars going up and down the mountain not too far from their position. It was their grand opening day and a good dozen hot air balloons were hovering above.

"Impressive." He stated with crossed arms as his breath came out a white mist in the cold air. "And now why are you following me?" Tikal simply shrugged.

"Because I want to." Was her simple reply, her own breath coming out as white fog. Shadow narrowed an eye at her sceptically.

"You won't be able to keep up with me for much longer." He told her, more sure of that fact than anything else. If she annoyed him enough he could disappear through Chaos Control and be on the other side of the world in an instant.

"I think I can try." She replied with a short smile. Shadow forged a sadistic sneer, an impish idea coming to mind. Shadow prided himself on being logical and not prone to childish out bursts like Sonic was. Unfortunately he loved challenges and that could easily override his sense of dignity.

Somersaulting off the rock, he landed on a slope heading down the mountain. The momentum carried with his land and the slope itself carried him forward and in an instantly he was sliding down the mountainside. The constant energy discharge from the underside of his sneakers keeping him from falling over. More people could need a board for this but not Shadow. He saw using tools for something you could do yourself as a sign of weakness.

The snow flying out behind him, Shadow went through a grove of trees and then over a snow bank. While in mid air he looked back expecting to see Tikal still on the top of the mountain. To his surprise he found that she was not far behind him, sliding down the mountain on a board that looked like it was made of ice.

Coming down on a patch of icy ground, Shadow forced his body weight forward so he slid gently through a tunnel made completely out of ice that drove it's way through the mountainside, dodging around giant icicles that lanced from the ceiling to the ground before blasting out the outside, back flipping over a cable car behind landing back on the slopes again.

Tikal wasn't able to copy that exact trick but she managed to pull one of her own, spinning her body through the air as she exited the ice tunnel, slid down the cable car wire before spiralling down towards the ground.

Shadow hovered long enough in one place to clap before skating off with the female Echidna in hot purist. The question of exactly how she was doing all this had completely left his mind. The black and red hedgehog was having fun and he wasn't about to let a little word like 'impossible' ruin it for him.

"Not bad." He commented, pulling up along side her. She smirked at him. "But can you do this?" Throwing his weight to one side, he skated in circles around the female Echidna, throwing up great clouds of snow before reaching a ledge that jutted out from the ground and going several three hundred and sixty degree slips in the air. He wasn't even finished there either, nearing the ground he flipped over himself three times before landing on the snow, forcing himself to a stop.

Looking back he saw Tikal throw herself into the air and do several flips of her own, sliding nearly effortlessly over the tree tops before sliding down a large snow ramp. Unfortunately at the last moment she lost her footing and she and her ice board went flying into the snow by Shadow's feet.

"Hey, I'm not the ultimate life form here." She argued as Shadow stared down at her. The black and red hedgehog chuckled, before reaching down and pulling her to her feet. He paused as he watched the ice board melt and the liquid fade into her shadow. Clearly there was more to this girl then what met the eye, but he could just sense that she was no threat.

"Ah, there it is." He remarked, his sense tuning to what he had travelled here to find. Ploughing through the snow, he dug his way through a large pile of the white stuff near the side of a large pine tree. Digging his hand in, he searched around inside until he withdrew holding the yellow Chaos Emerald. The jewel was emitting a delicate and almost Luke-warm glow, the faint melody emitted by it's radiating power soft on the wind.

"I was wondering what you were doing heading this far north." Tikal began, joining him by his side. Shadow nimbly tossed the Emerald from one hand to the other.

"Since Metal Sonic took the Emerald Void gave us, I thought it might be wize to keep an eye on the other six." He forged a grin. "I just hope Sonic had the same idea."

* * *

- 

San Francisco was like an unblemished Station Square. While the city Sonic was familiar with was now in ruins, this place reminded him off it before all of the destruction that beset it many times. The last time had had been however had not been under pleasant circumstances. Mistaken for Shadow, he had been arrested and was en-route to Prison Island before he bailed out of the chopper directly over the city. Here he was chased all day by G.U.N assault forces before confronting Shadow himself.

It was nearing the start of summer and already he could see that people were preparing for it. San Francisco was quite a tourist attraction with long beech's, cable cars and a pleasant view of the ocean. The sight of water Sonic could stomach, going near it bothered him.

Anyway, he wasn't here for the view. Right now his priority was to check up on that Chaos Emerald Tails said were here in a Museum. Locating the museum itself hadn't been overly difficult. It was the Natural History, on it helped to.

However it was closed for renovations. According to the security guard standing outside the locked front door, some idiot had taken a pin from a Dinosaur skeleton and the whole thing had fallen apart.

So Sonic had had to contend with waiting outside, sitting at a hot dog stand chewing over one thoughtfully. He was well aware of a few people taking snap shots of him but he guessed that was the price for being famous.

He still wasn't happy with the idea of Metal Sonic as an enemy, but as Knuckles had said he didn't have any choice in the matter. If the robotic Hedgehog wanted all seven Chaos emeralds then he would have to come here to get one.

Without warning there was a aloud succession of thuds and the ground shook, several parked cars jumping into the air with their alarms going off. Everyone around looked up in surprise. That hadn't been a earth quake. Generally Earthquakes lasted longer.

Finishing his hot dog, Sonic sped up to the top of a nearby building to get an eagles eye view of the place. From here he couldn't tell if anything was wrong, but the suddenly from nearby he heard screams and turned just in time to duck as a car was thrown through the air, narrowly missing him.

"Woah that can't be good." He muttered to himself, darting down back to the ground and the through the streets, dodging through fleeing cars and civilians. Coming into an empty high street, Sonic felt another thud that broke some of the windows, followed by another and another.

Scuttling out of the nearby street came one of the largest mechs Sonic had ever seen.

This new robot was unlike anything he was used to. It was shaped like a spider, with eight long articulated legs and a two sectioned armoured body in the middle. A pair of serrated pincers jutted out where the mouth should be, occasionally snapping at the fleeing swat police. Its eight legs were made up of three parts, a large coating of blue armour covering each one. Its overall size was gigantic, trampling cars and other vehicles, crushing them underfoot, tearing up the road, carving large holes out of the buildings as it crawled by.

It stopped directly in front of the blue hedgehog, a set of six large red eyes on the top side of its body studying him carefully, before lifting one of its front legs into the air. Sonic gulped and shot backwards as the spider brought the limb down, sinking it into the road, breaking the tarmac.

As it missed, it turned its head towards him opening its mouth and without any warning; a beam of energy came rocketing forward, narrowly missing the blue hedgehog, it carried on past him; gorging a long ditch in the sidewalk.

Spinning his entire body around in a spin, he rocketed forward, impacting off first one leg, then the other. To his dismay, his blows didn't seem to do any damage. The metallic plating of the armour didn't even seem to have a dent on it. Growling, he charged again, trying to hit the exact same spots.

Acting faster than he'd anticipated, the spider tore another of its legs around and batted him away like he was a fly. Landing uncomfortably against a street lamp, Sonic paused long enough to rub his aching head before summer salting back to his feet. Ok, so this thing was a little tougher than he originally thought. It was no big deal.

The robotic spider reared its head back and fired another blast. Sonic ducked under it before rocketing forward, somersaulting over a swing from its long legs and landing on the top of its body. Sensing the hedgehog's presence, the robot shook itself widely, trying to shake the intruder off.

Holding one hand back, Sonic gathered all the energy he would need and swung it forward again, a Sonic Wind attack already swirling downwards. The vortex tore the metal open, leaving a clear path down towards the insides of the machine. The spider shook as if gripped in the seizure, before its legs lost their strength and it collapsed to the ground.

Back flipped back to the ground as it fell, Sonic landed in one of his infamous poses. There was little point, he thought, in saving the world if you didn't look good doing it.

"Hey, when you're good you're good." He began to the cheering crowd behind him, a smug smile on his face.

Without warning, another shriek from behind made him turn. Looking back, he saw another robotic spider come scuttling out of another road, chasing some civilians out of their cars as it continued its steady march. And then another, following closely behind it, kicking a coach side with its long legs. Chaos was instantly back in control of the streets again.

As if that wasn't good enough, the spider he had just taken down shuddered violently before some secondary systems kicked in as it rose back to its feet. Perhaps in anger it lifted both front legs before swinging them down. It was Sonic's instinctive fast reflexes that save from becoming the one thing all Hedgehog's avoid trying to become; road kill.

His reflexes weren't fast enough to avoid it again however as another leg swung around and batted him away. Flying through the air, Sonic collided with the side of a car, slamming through one of the doors.

The spider charged after him, before a red blur came charging out from a side alley, a large spurred fist sinking itself into it's face, making it stagger back into the side of a building. As Sonic pried himself out of the smashed car, he watched Knuckles grab the spider by its fangs, drew his free fist back before slamming an insanely strong punch forward.

The spider staggered backwards before colliding into the side of a building.

"It's there any day when I don't save your butt?" The Echidna asked.

* * *

Flip card 1:

Name: Arachnid Badnik

Description: Machine Federation class Combat Mech.


	20. Episode 10, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: The Chaotix Detective Agency

* * *

- 

The spider screeched and slammed a leg down; vibrating the ground so much Knuckles lost his footing and fell over. Raising another leg, it prepared a finishing blow. Sonic came flying out of nowhere, smashing a spin attack directly into it, forcing the robotic incest backwards.

"I've got this one." The blue hedgehog shouted down as Knuckles picked himself back up, his backside covered in grit. "Go get those others." Looking back, the red Echidna could see the two other giants heading down the street after the fleeing civilians, shooting powerful laser beams from between their pincers, engulfing cars, trucks and other vehicles that got in their way in flames. Squad cars that came hurtling around the corners in the roads were trembled underfoot, the cops inside having just enough time to throw themselves out the doors.

"Right." Knuckles stated, before running off. Sonic swung a kick around, smashing in one of the spider's eyes. Screeching, he snapped at him angrily with its serrated pincers, nearly lopping off one of his limbs. Spinning over it in mid air, Sonic came down hard on its back, trying to use a spin attack to drill his way directly through. The Spider however had other ideas. With Sonic pinned on its back, he swung itself to the side and impacted one of the buildings, flattening the blue hedgehog against it.

The breath knocked out of him, Sonic slid down the wall to the ground, his head ringing. Recovering just in time, he dodged around a swing from one of the robots legs before racing up its limb and smashed a volley of punches directly into its face. Dodging underneath its jaws, Sonic went into the strongest spin attack he could muster and slammed himself directly across its legs. Forcing his way through whatever they were made of, he three of them in half, fragments of metal and alloy flying into the air. Loosing its balance, the robot clashed to the ground, its remaining five legs unable to support its weight. Using the opportunity, Sonic threw his arms forward and fired a Sonic Wing straight at it. The blue vortex tore through the air before colliding with its struggling body, tearing the armour off piece by piece, leaving deep cuts down its side before seemingly imploding the head, making it cave in.

With one final lurch, its body collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

Knuckles however was having less luck. After attracting the attention of one of the two other Spiders, the giant metal insect about faced and came charged. Holding one fist up, the red Echidna gathered his strength before slamming it down, splitting the road open with a fissure. The tearing in the ground widened and several of the spider's legs collapsed into it. Angry, it turned its large body towards him and fired a laser beam.

Knuckles ducked it before charging forward with both fists held ready. By now the Spider had pulled itself up and was holding it's two front legs ready and as soon as the Echidna was in range before striking out at him. Knuckles deflected the first few blows before swinging forward him, striking it across the left leg. The spider was forced to retract the limb, but the second swung around slamming itself directly into his stomach, sending him flying into the side of a building.

By now the whirring of choppers was filling the air, swat police taking up positions on the roof tops above, a few tanks coming rolling up one of the hills. Seeing the new targets the spider reared its head back before firing a laser directly down the slope, carving each tank in half; the sides falling away down the middle.

Pushing himself out of the rubble, Knuckles raced forward holding a fist up preparing for a swing. The spider saw him coming and jabbed both long legs forward. Knuckles jumped up at the last second, somersaulting above the swing before bringing his fist down hard on one of its limbs, shattering the armour and breaking the tip off.

The robotic insect screeched and backed up, smoke rising from the tip of its ruined leg. Knuckles didn't let up; he went in for close combat, slamming punch after punch against its main body, leaving huge dent marks in the armour. Each hit resonated throughout its mechanical body sickeningly. Finally the spider reared up on it's remaining seven usable legs well about the Echidna's each, before dropping back down again, shaking the ground and knocking Knuckles off his feet.

Looking up, he threw his arms forward just in time to catch the tip of another leg trying to crush him. Using his renowned strength, he kept the limb at bay; before pushing back against it and then tossing it back, the momentum of force making the spider back up into the side of a building.

Sharply it turned and scurried up to the roof tops, heading after the other spider that had carried on up the hill.

"Get back here!" Knuckles yelled after it, before breaking into a pursuit, trying his best to keep up with the thing. Using its size and long leg reach however it was beginning to outdistance him.

"Need a lift?" Asked a voice from behind and before he knew what was going on, a blue blur shot forward and grabbing him by the same, towing him along.

"Where were you?" Knuckles asked as he and Sonic soured up the building after the spider, quickly catching up. Once the robotic insect realised it would not be able to run away, it turned to face them head on, opening its fanged jaws before firing a multitude of lasers directly towards them. Sonic slid through them with ease, managing to slip through that defensive line to the exact position he needed.

"Ready for the Ball game?" Sonic asked Knuckles, who simply grinned with a thumbs up. "And here's the pitch!" Spinning his entire body around, the blue hedgehog built up a huge amount of momentum, with Knuckles hanging on for dear life. Once enough force had been gathered and he was in exactly the right position, Sonic let go of the red Echidna, who was then sent flying forward breaking the speed of sound with a loud Sonic boom, fist held forward.

The spider didn't have so much as a moment to put up a decent defence. That lightning fast attack tore through the legs it put forward to protect itself before punching a gigantic hole straight through middle, fire bellowing out the back. Torn nearly in half, the giant robotic insect swayed in the air for a moment before collapsing off the rooftops to the streets below with a loud thud.

"Two down, one to go." The red Echidna remarked, picking himself up. Sonic gazed off in the other direction towards the last Spider, which by now had reached the street in the museum standing at the far end. Before any one of them could so anything to stop it, the robotic insect raised both of its front legs and jabbed them forward, brick dust flying everywhere as a good half of the building collapsed in rubble.

_"That's far enough."_ A mechanized voice stated as Sonic started out after it. A shot range through the air and a barrage of laser blasts impacted the building he was standing on top of, nearly making it crumble into dust.

Looking up, the blue hedgehog saw the Machine Federation's battleship; the Behemoth come flying overhead casting a gigantic shadow over the ground. The giant was just as intimidating as Sonic remembered. White the Egg Carirer was sufficiently longer, the true size of the galleon like space ship was not forgotten. It flew over the city heights heading out towards the waters nearby.

With a loud thud a knight like robot came out of the sky and landed on the ground, the street beneath it cracking under the weight. It wasn't as large as the robots they'd been fighting, but just the look of it with its knight like armour and burning green eyes. A large broadsword already tight in its grip, the tip glinting brightly in the sunlight; a long tower shield on its other arm.

_"I am Lancelot, second General of Metal X, One of the four greatest servants of Lord Metal Sonic." It_ announced, staring up at Sonic through the visor of its helmet. _"I'd imagined the Master to be modelled after someone more deserving."_ He added, looking over the blue hedgehog's wiry frame. Sonic narrowed his eyes at him._ "Ah well, more to the pity._

"Save your pity!" Knuckles declared, throwing a fist forward. Lancelot grabbed the fist with his free hand and using the Echidna's own momentum tossed him across the street and directly into the side of a streetlamp.

_"Pity's the only thing you'll get out of me if that was your best shot."_ Knuckles didn't even hear him; the ringing in his head was too loud. His senses so stunned, he didn't even see the robot stand over him and raise his blade. Sonic raced down the building, across the street and kicked the sword out of his hand before landing another straight across Lancelot's face. The sheer force of which made the robot stagger backwards, clutching at the dent in his helmet.

"Hey buddy you ok?" The blue hedgehog asked as the Echidna made his way unsteadily to his feet.

"I will be when I get my hands on that robot." Recovered, Lancelot picked his sword back up; noting that it's collision with the street below had chipped its edge. He would have to sharpen its razor blade later. Absently he looked back at the last robot spider. It had retrieved the Chaos Emerald from the Museum and was making a beeline towards the Behemoth that hovered above the waters nearby, crushing buildings and parked cars that stood in its way.

_"Can't Equinox keep tighter leashes on his clan members?"_ He asked himself, before turning back, sword in hand. _"The Master left specific instructions regarding you and your friends. No one but himself is allowed to kill you."_ He tested the edge of the blade with his thumb. _"But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a short sparing match!"_ With that he charged; sword arm held out straight the sword an extension. Sonic dodged and ducked under the swift and fluid swings, made with such precision and speed he would it hard to slide through them all.

While the robot was distracted, Knuckles snuck around the side and attempted another attack. To his dismay, the shield on his free arm blocked his blow; while the robot's attention to focused nearly completely on Sonic. Knuckles tried again and each one of his powerful swings was blocked, the second arm twisting as if it knew in advanced exactly where he was going to try and attack.

As if he'd been holding back .Lancelot sheathed his weapon and smashed a punch into Sonic's face and in the confusion grabbed the blue hedgehog by the scruff of the neck and tossed him back into Knuckles, knocking the both of them over. Rolling the side, both of them avoided being stomped into the ground as a large armoured foot came slamming down.

Back flipping back to his feet, Sonic spun forward with a barrage of super fast punches. Lancelot blocked them all before slamming his knee directly into the blue hedgehog's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Rushing to his aid, Knuckles slammed the strongest punch he could muster into Lancelot's torso. The blow had less than a dramatic effect, all he could manage was a large dent in the armour; which in all honestly did not seem to slow the robot down very much. Exactly what was this thing made of?

Recoiling away from the blow, Lancelot backed off to a safe distance to survey the dent in his side. It had come dangerously close to piercing the armour. Perhaps he had underestimated these to. Still, his defences were greatly superior to their own. It was probably best to kill them now, eliminate any possible threat to the Machine Federation.

He kicked himself, remembering that Metal Sonic had promised to crush anyone who even thought about destroying them. The master wanted that honour alone. Besides, they had the Chaos Emerald from here. There was no real reason to hang around.

Down by the waters, a large ramp had descended from the Behemoth and the last Mechanical Spider, with the green Chaos Emerald safely locked inside it.

_"We'll have to cut this one short boys."_ Lancelot told them, before bending his knees, tensing and then jumping high into the air; falling backwards over the rooftops._ "Till next time!"_ Came the swift add-on, dying away ay the robot drifted further away.

"Hey, get back here!" Sonic called, about to run after him before Knuckles placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Forget it Sonic. Come one, we should go tell the others about this."

* * *

- 

To Vector's utter delight, after the expansion of their business thanks to the winnings from the Emerald Grand Prix, The Chaotix detective agency was doing extremely well. Hiring a few more underlings as well as a secretary, Vector could now claim to be the head of something that actually made money instead of owing it.

They had had to move out of their old office in Station Square after most of the city was left in ruins, they had moved their business to New York City, where demand for their type of law enforcement was more than high. There was always an unsolved murder, mugging, theft or assault case to be solved around here. The police here didn't like them very much, but Vector suspecting that was more to do with the fact that Chaotix had solved more crimes in a single week then they had in a month.

Still, they did have help. Rei, one of their earliest new recruits had the strange ability to sense things that the others could not. Espio called it precognition and Vector was unsure whether Rei knew himself that he was doing it, but whatever the reason, it made their work that much easier.

"Here ya go Vector." Charmee began, flying into the crocodiles large office with a large collection of paperwork tucked under each harm. Vector grimaced as he dumped it down on the growing IN pile. Surprisingly, there was much more paper work involved in being a detective than he had anticipated. Back when they were near broke the only paper he had ever had to deal with was the steady stream of bills pushed through the mail box. "There's more outside, I'll go get it." The crocodile slapped his hands down on the desk.

"More?" He asked in frustration and more than a hint of annoyance. "Isn't paperwork what Alice is for?" Alice was his secretary, a mobian bandicoot they'd taken on after moving here.

"She's already swamped." The bee replied, hovering intently in the air. "Besides, all this needs your signature on it somewhere." Vector just groaned and collapsed on his desk. He supposed everything had its price, even success. The crocodile was finding himself with even less and less time to go out on the scene of an investigation himself. He was beginning to think that he should just chuck it in.

Rei, as usual, could be found outside on the balcony outside their offices, staring out across the city. New York wasn't like Station Square had been, but the flying squirrel guessed that they didn't move here for the scenery. It was the rumours of unsolved crimes going unnoticed and the amount of money some were prepared to offer if they were solved that put dollar signs in Vector's eyes.

Rei had short golden yellow fur and drown eyes, his head fur hanging over his face untidily. A long flat tail trail out behind him, occasionally swishing lazily around. Apart from the mobian characteristic gloves and sneakers, Rei wore loose fitting clothes, including a canvas yellow shirt and green pants. Despite his laid back attitude and lazy nature, Rei was actually quite thin. Usually, flying squirrels tended to get a little fat especially during the winter and the hibernation period. Rei however seem to have by passed the entire procedure somehow.

Yawning, he back flipped with impressive acrobatic skill and landed on the curved roof just above. The sun was already beginning to set and he intended to get in as many sunbathing hours as he could. It had been kind of quiet lately. Word had gotten around about the rate of Chaotix's success in the criminal underworld and a lot of the petty criminals were trying their best to stay out of their way. Still, Rei had this buzzing at the back of his head that told him to be careful. There were going to upset a lot of powerful people before too long.

With a solid kick, Espio entered the room. A rather strange entrance, given that the chameleon preferred the stealthy entrance his profession was so often associated with.

"About time, I need your signature on all these." Alice, a female bandicoot sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room began, gesturing to all the papers on her desk.

Ignoring everyone, Espio strode past them all and straight into Vector's office without bothering to knock. Leaving Alice staring after him awkwardly.

Expecting to find Charmee with another buddle of paperwork, the crocodile looked up wearily.

"We've got a new case." Espio told him, his tone leaving no room for argument. Vector narrowed an eye at him.

"Sure, just give me a day or two to get all this done." He replied; gesturing to all the papers piled up on his desk.

"That can wait." The chameleon told him in the same rock solid tone. "This can't." Almost angrily. He slapped a piece of paper down on Vector's desk. It was the printed photograph Okida had given him, showing the intruder at one of the G.U.N bases, the same intruder that had stolen the remains of Metal Sonic. Vector's eyes widened as the face on the paper instantly rang several thousand bells. "He's back Vector, and he isn't getting away this time." The crocodile was silent. Espio had been after Fang the Sniper's blood for years. He had come close to killing him not long ago, had Vector not reminded him of who he was. They were going to take him in, had not some strange force separated them and let Fang, or Nack as he was known to them, get away. This was the first clue to his whereabouts they had had since then.

This was instantly put at the top of the 'To-Do' pile. Chaotix and Fang had a score to settle that had waited too long already. With a large grin Vector swept all the paperwork off his desk and onto the floor.

"Fang the Sniper." Rei began, looking at the paper in his hand curiously. "Funny name, why'd he change it from Nack?"

"So he could elude the authorities." Vector began. This was such an importance case; the crocodile had gathered only the most experienced members of the agency in his office to discuss the new job. The others outside were still a little too wet behind the ears to deal with something like this. "He's wanted for murder on both Mobius and Earth." He paused, seeing the iron clad anger in Espio's face. "He's the head of a group of mercenaries and thieves called the Sharpshooters. Their pretty secretive, which is probably Fang's doing. This guy is a professional killer, cunning and ruthless. Morality doesn't enter into the equation with him. He **never** shoots to wound." Rei blinked, looked at the face of the weasel face and then up towards Espio. He took one glance at the anger in the chameleon's eyes and a realization dawned on him.

"This is personal for you guys isn't it?" He began with levelled eyebrows. "He killed one of your own." None of them said anything, but they didn't need to. Rei could already see the confirmation in their eyes. The hate radiating from all three of them was nearly overpowering, but intermixed with frustration of betrayal.

"Nack used to be one of the agency." Espio began and left it at that.

"Big case." Beck, another new recruit began as Rei handed him the photo. Beck was a human, one of the few in the agency. Mostly those who Vector employed where Mobian's who felt more comfortable with one of their own kind as their boss.

He was just over fifteen, leaving only Vector as the one taller than himself. Two a thick mess of black hair reaching down behind his head, held back from his face by a large blue headband. He and Rei had been good friends ever since he joined up. Beck wasn't good at the inevitable office work enforced on them all, but he was good in the field. He recognised clues that even Vector sometimes missed. Put together with Rei's near physic abilities and there were a lethal pair. "But hey, no criminal gets away from Chaotix?" He asked Rei with his characteristic smirk and the two of them high-fived each other.

"Get serious." Espio snapped at them. "Fang is not your every day mugger. He's killed before and won't hesitate to do so again."

"Yeah yeah, so you keep saying." Rei yawned in a disinterested tone, scratching the inside of his ear. The chameleon bared his teeth at him.

"Alright, so this is the plan." Vector began quickly, seeing hostility brewing in the air. "Rei, you and Beck go downtown and see what you can pick up from the usual sources. Espio and I'll see what's going down in the black market." There was a lot more being transferred in the illegal underground than simple stolen goods. Information was just valuable as pilfered jewellery.

"My contact in the military says Fang stole a piece of advanced machinery from one of their bases. There are only so many places he can sell something like that." Espio announced. The crocodile rubbed his hands together.

"Good, that's makes things much easier." He paused, seeing Beck and Rei still standing there. "What are you standing around here for, GO! See what those guys know about any sort of deal going downabout any stolen govermentmachines." The two of them mock saluted before leaving.

* * *

- 

"I've checked with G.U.N intelligence." Okida began wearily, sitting down in a chair, spreading his wings. "These spider robots have never been seen before. If Eggman did create them he's using some far advanced design we've never seen before." Sonic shook his head.

"These robots belonged to the Machine Federation. Metal Sonic's boys." He stated, pacing angrily up and down the length of Tails workshop. After the chaos in San Francisco, Sonic had gathered all he could here so a way to deal with the problem could be thought up. Almost with himself, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge had come along. As if representing G.U.N, Okida sat nearby. It was from him that Tails was pulling all their intelligence. That could be considered an illegal offence, if the President hadn't authorised the sharing of information with them in one of the many periods of crisis they endured. Chris and Chuck were there to, recently returned from Italy. Sonic had tried to get a hold of Shadow, but as usual the black and red hedgehog was nowhere to be found.

It had been a while since they had all been here like this. The last time they spent so much a night in Tails cliff side home was Christmas, when the chaos began that consumed the next six months.

"They were tough to." Knuckles put in. "I hit one of them with one of my strongest punches and all it did was back up." Sonic nodded, putting a fore finger and thumb to his chin looking thoughtful.

"And that General was even tougher. Lancelot had nearly wiped the floor with the both of them. Despite being smaller than the Spiders, he was considerably stronger. No amount of speed or brute strength seemed enough to get the better of him.

"What I want to know is where whoever built them got those advanced designs." Chuck began, drumming his fingers on the table. "From what I've seen those Spiders were twice as durable as Eggman's badniks.

"And I would know." A shape voice stated; one that was instantly recognisable. Shooting back, Sonic came face to face with his arch nemesis, Doctor Eggman himself. He stood in the doorway of the open front door with his two hence-bots Becoe and Decoe standing on either side. Outside standing guard were two of his Dreadnaught robots, acting as an escort for their creator.

Knuckles was the first to react, sliding forward with his fists held high and his eyes narrowed in characteristic anger. Okida tore his gun from it's holster and held it at the ready. Everything went silent for a moment, the thick taste of hostility in the air. "I'm not here to fight." Eggman was quick to add. "I'm here because I need your help." Everyone there looked confused. Wasn't Eggman supposed to be their enemy, the one who kept shooting at them for years on end?

"And why should we help you?" Amy demanded; her hammer in his grasp. Eggman strode purposely into the workshop, his arms behind his back.

"Because miss, you need my help and I need yours. I can't defeat our mutual enemy alone."

"Metal Sonic." The blue hedgehog began with a reluctant sigh. Eggman gave his life long enemy a side ways glance.

"Correct. It seems you lost control of him." A small chuckle escaped him. "I'm not surprised really. If I could not command him, I fail to see why you ever expected to." Sonic shot him a glare of his own. "I'm forced to come to you because unless we put aside our differences and act together, it's going to be too late to stop him." Everyone shot each nervous glances. The threat was real enough, but Eggman had a reputation for deceit.

"And why is that?" Chuck asked. Without even being invited, Eggman walked over and sat down on the sofa, sinking into the curious so much he almost reached the floor.

"After that fiasco near the ARK, my Egg Carrier 3 crash landed in Tibet." He said, beginning a story. His two loyal robots standing behind him protectively. The two Dreadnaughts outside remained perfectly still. On orders not to enter the building unless Eggman himself was in danger. "Before repairs could get under way, we came under attack. It was Metal Sonic, in a flying battleship of his own." Sonic grimaced. He had seen it himself. Metal Sonic's battleship, the Behemoth. The ship that had forced the Icarus to make a crash landing of its own. "We were in no fit state to defend ourselves against such an onslaught. He destroyed nearly all my robots and completely ruined my Egg Carrier. It lies half buried under the snow somewhere in Tibetan mountains. I was lucky to escape even with what you see here." He gestured briefly to the robots around him. "But it was not me Metal Sonic attacked us to obtain." He hesitated for a brief moment. Sonic could read in his facial features that he was withholding information on a characteristic impulse but knew he had to give it away anyway. "They raided my hold and took all the technology I used to create my Badniks." Tails stamped his fist into his palm, a triumphant look on his face.

"I knew it! I knew you couldn't have created those robots by yourself. They were way too advanced!" The sides of Eggman's moustache flopped in defeat, having given away his edge.

"Yes." He began again almost reluctantly. "You don't have to rub it in. About a year ago, one of the scout bots located a patch of ruins in the northern ice glaciers of Canada. With little else to do until my Dreadnaught army was finished on the Egg moon I went there to investigate myself. What I found was beyond all my expectations." He launched into a tale that a few of them suspected had been glamorised, but since he kept to the point they let it pass. He told them of how he discovered an entrance to a giant underground chamber that housed machines the likes of which even he had never seen. Advanced technology far ahead of even his own designs. Salvaging what he could from the ruins with an excavation, he brought it on board the Egg Carrier. There, he was able to understand enough of it to create the perfect robotic solider, the Badnik.

"But where did all that come from?" Chuck demanded clearly in thrall to the story.

"I don't know." Eggman admitted. "Before I could learn more there was a cave in and whatever I could learn was crushed under tones of rubble."

"So Metal Sonic has it now." Okida began, then his eyes widened. "Those spiders were made from advanced technology too! Metal Sonic must have used what he stole from you to create them!" Eggman nodded with a grim smile over his face.

"And I'm afraid it gets worse." Sonic rolled his eyes. There was never a situation so bad or complex that it couldn't get worse. He'd learn that from experience. "The technology was run by Chaos Energy. I had had to use a Chaos Emerald to activate it. I'm afraid Metal Sonic stole mine as well." He reached into his red jacket and withdrew a small metallic slab about the size of a dinner plate, but square with a blinking red light on the top. "This is the only piece I managed to save. Unfortunately I don't know what it does so I doubt it will be of much help." He put it down on the table near the TV. Was a piece of machinery alright, but of a kind none of them were familiar with. "From what I've been able to gather, I'm afraid Metal Sonic may have found the mother load." Everyone looked his way with confused expressions on their faces. "Data I collected from the chamber showed me that there was an even bigger treasure trove of technology hidden somewhere on this planet. Before I could find out where, the cave in occurred. With that kind of technology at his disposal, Metal Sonic could be come invincible." He let it lie. There was no need to explain what would happen if that happened. Metal Sonic had already made his ultimate intentions very clear.

"You said it ran on Chaos Energy." Okida began. Eggman nodded. "That must be why he's collecting the Chaos Emeralds. He can't use those machines without them. He took the one from the museum, the one from you guys and then Eggman's. Three in all."

"But we've still got that one from winning the Emerald Grand Prix down in my workshop." Tails reminded him.

"That still leaves three more out there." Sonic said looking worried. "And Metal's ahead by two whole Emeralds."

"It's vital that he does not get his hands on all seven." Eggman almost pleaded. "That technology must never be allowed to fall into his hands." Chuck studied the artefact Eggman had produced carefully. Something about the way it was constructed that seemed familiar. Suddenly, everything clicked into place in his mind and he nearly dropped the strange device in surprise.

"Wait a moment." He exclaimed, reaching into his white lab coat and withdrawing the device he and Chris had obtained in Italy. His wyes widened. One was clearly in better shape than the other, but their similarity was unquestionable. These two pieces of ancient hardware were created by the same person or technology.

"Where did you get that?" Eggman demanded in surprise, on his feet in a second. White his grandfather was busy comparing to two devices Chris relied the story of their escapade in Italy, recovering the near identical piece of ancient machinery from Andre.

"Great, so Hexagon's after these machines too?" Sonic asked in exasperation, throwing his arms up into the air. "That's just perfect, now's it's a race between the three of us."

"Enough chit chat." Eggman began impatiently. "We haven't got much time. If Metal Sonic retrieves all seven Emeralds and reaches that technology with them, he and the rest of his armies will become unstoppable."

"Ok this is the plan." Sonic began hastily, instantly gaining everyone's attention. "Eggman, you take Chuck, Tails and Knuckles to that place you got the machines from. See what you can dig up there." Eggman scowled at him, intensely disliking taking orders from his number one nemesis by well aware of the fact he had little choice.

"Can we trust him?" Amy whispered to the blue Hedgehog.

"No way." Sonic told her back with a short grin. "That's why Knuckles is going with them, but I'm sure Okida will have him watched like a hawk anyway." He turned back to his audience. "Right, Chuck; is that Chaos Emerald detector ready yet?" For some time now, Chuck had been busy creating a device that could accurately track the whereabouts of all seven Chaos Emeralds. He felt it necessary after they needed them to defeat the Master Emerald powered Metal Sonic.

"All I have a few prototypes." Chuck replied. "They'll probably break down a few times but it's the best I can manage right now." The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes.

"Fine, beggars can't be choosy. The rest of you are going to be with me. We'll spilt up into two teams. There are three more Emeralds left out there to find, let's get them before Metal Sonic does."

* * *

(In Chris' Voice) 

The Emerald hunt on again? Eggman an ally? Where did those machines Metal Sonic wants come from? Will Chaotix find Fang the Sniper? Find out as the Saga continues next time on Sonic X: The Seer Called Cosmo. Don't miss it!


	21. Episode 11

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C

S.O.N.I.C

GO, GO, GO, GO! LET'S GO!

Episode 11: The Seer Called Cosmo

* * *

Publicly, the Governments position on the supposed new threat from a Machine Federation was it was nothing but internet rumours. In reality however, they were far more well informer. The President knew the situation completely. He knew that the evil Metal Sonic had returned, he knew he was collecting the Chaos Emeralds to power some ancient machines and take over the world and he knew that Eggman had allied himself with them. He knew all this because he received frequent reports from Major Okida of Freelance Division. 

No one in their right mind trusted Eggman. He was infamous for deceit and betrayal. Still, they would need his expertise in order to contour the Machine Federation's robots, or Metal X as their elite called themselves. Armed with the knowledge as he was, the President had ordered a world wide search for the Chaos Emeralds. Those powerful gem stones had to be retrieved before Metal Sonic could use them.

England, left in tattered ruins after the end of the occupation was just one of his growing number of concerns that had made his hair prematurely white. Still, at least this chaos had exposed the Elite and their machinations that had been controlling most if not all of the worlds Governments for years. A frown forced its way onto his face at the thought of most his predecessors in the White House controlled in some way by those arrogant bankers. If the worlds hadn't merged, who knows what the future of man kind would have been.

If nothing else this had taught him one thing. A crack down on corruption was just as important as the security of the nation. The U.S constitution AND the Bill of Rights had to be upheld. Those who gave up their liberty for safety deserved neither; the President believed the saying went.

He sat down at his deck and the giant IN-pile stacked upon it. He'd been right in his assumption. He was the most powerful paper pusher in the world.

"Mr. President, we have Major Okida on the line." Christian Copper, his personal assistant told him through a speaker near the end of his desk.

"Fine, put him through." He replied, before turning to the large video screen they installed a few weeks ago to allow the President to see exactly who he was talking to when people sent him messages. The United States eagle symbol on it dissipated, replaced by the smirking face of the Major. His fur and the red drape around his shoulders were flapping wildly in the wind pouring in from the open door to a chopper interior behind him. Sitting in the seat beside him was Topaz, another member of the Freelance Division; G.U.N's most elite and skilled group.

"Reporting in sir. Chaos Emerald located and retrieved." He brought the jewel up in one hand so the President could see it. Its glow was a soft sky blue, gently lighting the inside of the chopper. Leading a private battalion of G.U.N troops, the Major had followed one of Chuck's devices straight to the Congo of South America; there amongst a patch of dry grass was the Emerald. The President let out a sigh of relief. At least they were getting somewhere with this whole fiasco.

"How are Sonic and the others doing?" He asked after a moment of contemplation.

"They headed off to Southern Europe after another blip." Okida replied; gesturing to the sound bleeping sound Chuck's small watch like machine made now it was so close to the Chaos Emerald. "Charles Thorndyke, Tails, Knuckles and Doctor Eggman heading north into Canada, I already took the liberty of keeping one of our remaining surveillance satellites to keep an eye on them." Once the Eggman Empire spread into space, one of its first objectives was to destroy any Government owned satellite they could get their hands on. Robbed of their eyes in the sky, the intelligence services were virtually blind. Only a few remained, most of which supplied television channels. With Metal X around blasting anything that wasn't under their control, sending up more satellites would simply be a waste of resources.

"Good, keep me informed of progress and anything unusual." The President began. "As for the Emerald…" He continued when he saw Okida about to open his mouth. "Let Sonic and the others hang onto it for now. I thing of no safer place to keep a bunch of super powered jewels at the present time." The mayor nodded, before he dissipated and the United States Eagle came back.

* * *

Metal Sonic watched over the three Chaos Emeralds the Machine Federation had been able to collect. One red, one green and the final one grey. He knew Sonic and the others had one more, the purple one. He knew this because he'd been there when Amy presented it as her prize for winning the Emerald Grand Prix. He could wait before confronting Sonic for that Emerald however. He wanted to put off fighting them until he had the other pieces to the puzzle. He didn't want to finish them just yet, not before he attained god hood once again.

The Behemoth, his personal battleship floated in orbit around the Earth, a gigantic metal version of a galleon, thousand of blinking lights glistening over it's surface. Metal Sonic was very proud of his space ship, superior to Eggman's now deceased Egg Carrier in everyway.

His attention was drawn away from the glass container in which he'd housed the Emeralds when an alarm on a nearby sensor went off. The ship's probes had detected the presence of another Chaos Emerald.

Crossing over, he investigated the monitor that switched itself on when he approached. According to the computer, a strong trace of Chaos energy had been detected on the north east coast of Spain, near a place called Barcelona. The robotic Hedgehog paused. It certainly had the signature of Chaos energy that hinted at the presence of a Chaos Emerald, but the readings were erratic and unstable. Something else was there. What that something else was he couldn't say, but it warranted investigation.

Presently, most his Generals were planet side investigating other leads for Chaos Emerald locations. The only one left to go after it was Leviathan.

_"General."_ The robotic hedgehog barked and like he'd been there all along, his third made Elite robot stepped out of the darkness. Leviathan was the leader of the Machine Federation's navy and as such had attempted to adapt himself to water combat. Metal fins ran down each arm and leg, fins that could used for combat as well as underwater navigation. His head was protected by a square box of transparent plastic, the inside housing a pair of round eyes. Its main bulk was a connection of several round pieces, all held together to form a very fish like body. When he swam, it was with the fluid motions of a Shark.

_"My lord."_ His general began with a short bow. Metal Sonic simply pointed to the screen with a single metal talon.

_"Go and investigate. If it's a Chaos Emerald bring it back to me."_

_"As you wish Master."_ Leviathan added, before disappearing altogether.

* * *

In all honestly, Sonic hadn't been prepared for the sweltering heat when they reached Spain, the place Chuck's device told them that the Chaos Emerald lay. The sun blared brightly at him as he stepped out of the X tornado and he had to cover his eyes.

"The day I forgot to bring my sun block." He muttered to himself. Along with him to this expedition was Rouge, Amy, Chris, Cream and Vanilla, who insisted on coming along after her little joy ride with them on the Icarus and of course, wherever Cream went Emerl was not far behind.

Sonic smiled to himself. He could endure the tropical climate. It was either this or to have gone with Tails and the others into Northern Canada. He preferred this extreme to the other.

Amy had brought the X-Tornado down in a perfectly green field, a few grazing cows mooing at them as they aircraft took up valuable eating space. Most of the landscape of this country was field; Sonic had seen that from the air as they flew in. Blocking his view of the horizon to the left was a thick collection of jocks that jutted out of the side of a nearby hillside, long grass hiding their underside from view.

"Ok, where to from here?" Chris asked the pink hedgehog, who was busy consulting the small wrist watch like machine Chuck had given her, a small green bleeping loudly to indicate the close presence of a Chaos Emerald. Amy paused to check the readings from it.

"That way." He answered, pointing off towards the rocks in the distance. Before any of them could say anything, Sonic took off through the tall grass towards them, across the long field and just before reaching them leaping up into the air and landing squarely on the top of one of the tallest rocks. The sight he saw from the top made him shiver involuntarily. The hill ended abruptly a little further on in a cliff that rolled down to a golden coastline; a large seaside resort not too far away down it's length. A good few hundred people had gathered there, a canopy of large umbrella's stretching down towards a large city surrounded by lush wilderness. What got Sonic so upset at the scene was of course, the long blue ocean. Water in other words.

Why did every trail he had to pass involve water in some way? He could face fire, wind and earth, but NOT water!

"According to the map, that's Barcelona." Chris stated as the others joined his side. The human had a map in his hand as he traced his finger along the coastline.

"And According to this thing, the Emerald's somewhere down there." Amy added, the bleeping from her watch like machine beginning to get on her nerves.

It seemed that Sonic's reputation had spread abroad as well, as soon as he got with sight of the public he was instantly surrounded by a teething mass of fans with autograph books flying in the air. They set upon him like a pack of starved dogs and Sonic begged Amy to get him away from all this. This she did, by frightening them back with her hammer. "You loved all that attention really." She stated in a 'as a matter of fact' voice at him with levelled eyes.

"Mom and I'll wait here." Cream told him, half distracted by the lure of the golden sands and the laughter of other children down by the waters edge. "Coming Emerl?" She called over to her robot friend, who obediently followed her.

"I'll leave the Chaos Emerald to you this time." Rouge remarked. "I'll be grabbing come much needed sun." She added with a smirk, heading off to a small road near the end of a road to buy a swim suit.

"Fine, leave all the work to us." Sonic muttered sarcastically, but Rouge was too far away to hear. Groaning, he shook his head. The device Chuck had invented was not as precise as they'd hoped. All it could tell them is that the Emerald lay within a five mile radius of their current location. That was a lot of ground to cover, especially with the city of Barcelona lying within that circle.

"Maybe we should spilt up." Chris commented gaining a long side glance from Sonic. He laughed nervously. "You're right, that isn't going to do it." The blue hedgehog slapped his forehead.

"Can't that thing tell us anything else?" He asked Amy, who was still working her fingers over the watch like machine. After about an hour of fruitless searching, the blue hedgehog's patience was beginning to wear thin, and beginning this close to a large water source did not help either. By the time they'd given up trying to locate a Chaos Emerald with that thing they'd wound up back at the beach, with little to show for their efforts apart from a headache.

"I'm not Tails, I don't know how to make this thing more helpful." She stated.

"Let me have a go." Chris began and Amy wilfully handed him it, glad to be rid of the frustrating thing. Chris looked it over, before turning it upside down in his hands and opening a small panel on the back. Carefully he began altering some of the settings, trying not to press the wrong button and accidentally destroy the thing from the inside out. "There." He added finally, closing the small hatch. Strangely, bleeping from the device did not lessen. "I can't make it tell us where an Emerald is exactly, but it might tell us how warm we're getting." Amy strapped it to her wrist again and tried aiming it in various directions. Depending which way it was facing, the bleeping would either lessen or increase in volume.

"Well what's marginally better." Sonic added. Following the headache inducing noise, the device lead them through the city to a beach on the other side of the bay. This was one far more rocky than the other and the sand was brown instead of gold. Apart from a few fishermen rolling up their nets, it was deserted. The loud cawing of seagulls filling the air above, rivalled only by the omni present noise from the device.

"I don't see any Chaos Emerald." Chris admitted, thinking that perhaps Chuck had crossed a wire somewhere in his machine.

Sonic groaned and sat down on a large rock looking bored while Amy carried on up the beech, following the machines lead. The bleeping was so constant now they were getting close that was for certain. If it was a Chaos Emerald, then the Machine Federation hadn't been here yet.

"Hey, what is that?" The pink hedgehog began in awe. Sonic and Chris looked up, before joining her side.

Whatever it was, it wasn't a chaos emerald that had drawn the attention of the tracker. The air nearby was rippling, like inside an area of compressed heat, only going around in a circle instead of straight up. This was one of those warps Void and those from Maginary world used to travel between their home world and this one. Sonic had seen entire armies of angel like beings disappear through them at one time.

"Woah…" The blue hedgehog began staring at in surprise.

"It's radiating Chaos energy." Amy announced, shutting down the tracker in disappointment. "Probably isn't a Chaos Emerald for miles." Chris however seemed more interested in the warp than the loose of a Chaos Emerald.

As he approached it, the rippling effect radiating around it's edge began to intensify, like reality itself was bending around it. Sonic looked around in confusion; it looked as if the horizon was beginning to travel further and further away, pulled by some force he did not understand. The warp was unstable.

Then with a single burst, a small figure emerged from it's depths and then dropped down to the rough sand below with a loud thud and as soon as she was free from the hole, the warp bent in upon itself and closed, the rippling running down to a single point like water down a plug hole before disappearing entirely.

Apart from her skin being a near pale yellow, this girl looked exactly like Lumina Flowlight. She was of average Mobian height, but obviously she was one of Void's people with a plain face with no nose and large blue eyes. Her hair and clothes were a bright green. A round red jewel hung in the golden wraps of a pendant around her neck. Her dress was like the leaves on a plant, falling into a jagged outline around her legs.

She looked up at Sonic weekly, a great deal of fatigue plain on her face.

"Are you the Speedster?" She asked, her voice slightly more high pitched than Sonic expected as normal.

"Excuse me?" He asked in confusion. Her eyes widened in fear.

"Are you the one I saw in my dream? One half of a whole, the Speedster? Opposite to the Shade?" Sonic was left a little stunned by her query and stood there looking confused.

"Yes, he's the one." Amy stated, her mind working slightly faster than Sonic's; realizing that that was what their visitor needed the hear. A wide smile spread weekly over her face as Sonic looked back at the pink hedgehog in surprise.

"I am?" He asked looking as confused as ever.

"Hey, you ok?" Chris asked, trying to help this new girl to her feet but seemed to lack the ability. She hung limply in his arms, with all the strength of a rag doll. Her eyes were slowly closing, as sleep began creeping over her inch by inch.

"You have a name?" Amy asked once Chris put her down on the sand, tying to make her more comfortable than she had been a minute ago.

"I am…" She began, her eyes inches away from closing. "Cosmo." With that she closed her eyes and settled into a troubled sleep.

* * *

- 

The black market vendors were notoriously temperamental. Ask the wrong questions and they became agitated even violent. They had to be dealt with cautiously. Unfortunately, Vector was not a cautious croc.

"You'd better start talking buddy!" The reptilian mobian grabbed their contact by the shirt and lifted him into the air before Espio could tell him to stop. On the track of the notorious Fang the Sniper, they had a lead that the weasel would try to sell his stolen equipment in this part of town. The black market was the only place anyone could sell Government registered machines without being asked embarrassing questions. Instead of being diplomatic, Vector charged in like a bull in a china shop into the midst of a small drinking pit in the lower half of New York's underbelly, where all customers carried at least one gun. Several of them already reaching for their concealed weapons.

Espio's shuriken were already through the air, pinning arms to tables and walls before someone could reach a trigger.

Refusing to have trouble in his place, the owner had them evicted before bullets could start flying.

"Do you understand the meaning of the word inconspicuous?" Espio asked their fearless leader angrily as they were turned out into the street.

"Ah he didn't know anything." Vector stated fiercely, scratching the end of his snout. "That's the last one then, seems Nack's not going to put goods up for general auction." Espio nodded in agreement as the two of them made way down a street lamp lit road, a few cars passing by. The loud blaring of police sirens off the distance almost omni present by now. "Must be a private contract. Maybe Rei and Beck had some luck?"

"Nack won't have left many trails, he knows better than that." They all knew that. After all, Vector had been the one who first showed the treacherous weasel the ropes.

"If I was Nack, what would I do?" The crocodile asked himself, looking up the starry sky thoughtfully.

"Collect my money and disappear as quickly as possible." Espio commented as they rounded a corner. If they were going to get any worth while information, there was probably only one guy they could see about it. He kept his ear to the ground and if he didn't know about some of the deals going down then no one would.

His name was Swift. A shadowy character, but friendly in his own way. Occasionally he lent Chaotix a bit of information. Of course they could never actually let anyone know that. After all, he had a reputation to maintain and nobody liked a squealer.

Finding a man of skill on short notice was quiet difficult, but Espio was a person of considerable skill himself.

Eventually, they found him at one of his haunts, a dingy basement bar; sitting at the back hall the half dimmed light from above a pool table.

"Information again?" Swift was human, yet he seemed as able to fade away into invisibility as easily as any chameleon. That was what afforded him his name, Swift as the wind; here one minute gone the next.

"As always." Vector aid with a small chuckle, sitting down at the table with him. Swift always had his face hidden, either by a hat or a scarf. This time he wore both. Neither Espio nor Vector had seen his features directly, only the blue eyes that peered at them from out of the gloom.

"Seems information is demand these days, people from all over the city've been trying to pry know how out of me." Swift stated, folding his arms.

"What sort of people?" Espio asked.

"The sort I would do well to avoid if you catch my meaning." Swift answered ominously. "Now, how can I help you today?"

"We need to know if there are deals going down the involve stolen equipment." Swift chuckled.

"You just described half the deals going down just tonight."

"This one involves machinery stolen from a G.U.N base." Espio added.

"Ah, now that's more specific." The human shuffled his chair to make himself more comfortable. "And as it happens, there is something along those lines. As I understand, military hardware is up for underground auction within the week. No one asks how the guy got it in the first place."

"Where, when?"

"The west side docks, two days, midnight. Oh course, you didn't hear from me." Then he got up and began to walk away. In mid stride he turned back. "Cash or credit?" He asked and even under his scarf they could see his smug smile. Chaotix had a long out standing debt with him. His information did not come cheep.

"Put it on our tab." Espio added and within that, Swift disappeared.

Walking out into the night, Espio looked up at he full power half hidden behind a sky scrapper in the distance. All this running around following leads was his life style, but on this one he wanted to cut right to the chase. He wanted Nack's head on a plate.

Mighty had only been sixteen when they undertook that job. Had he known what would happen, Espio would have obeyed his first impulse and let Vector drop it as far too dangerous. It was Nack who finally managed to persuade them all to go after that criminal.

Chaotix had treated Nack like a brother and given him more than an ample share and how did he thank them, by betraying them to extremely dangerous people. The three of them, Vector, Espio and Charmee barley got out of that situation. One of them didn't even get out at all.

"Earth to Espio." Vector began, slapping him on the back of the head. The chameleon shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and looked up. "It's late." The croc added, pointing to his wrist watch. "Come on, let's get back to the office and see if the others turned up anything." Espio just murmured something under his breath as they walked into the entrance of a new street.

Once there, blocking their path were several large human thugs all armed with large pieces of copper pipe, planks of wood and one of them had a knife. All of them were hired goons from the back allies of the city, muscle for most of the criminal organisations.

"Word on the street is you've been asking for Mr. Sniper." One of them stated, repeatedly taping his weapon against his palm, a scowl on his face.

"Mr. Sniper doesn't like to be disturbed." Another added. With a swift flick on his wrist, several shuriken appeared between Espio's fingers.

"And he certainly doesn't like people poking their noses into business that doesn't concern them!" One of them swung a pipe down, Espio dodged out of the way before a spinning piece of metal was sent coursing through the air, pinning his assailants arm to wall.

Vector smashed a punch into one of them who tried to stab a knife in his back, before tackling him to the ground; knocking the man unconscious. The third swung as Espio several times with a plank of wood, before Espio knocked it out of his hand with a flying shuriken before sending him crashing down to the sidewalk with a kick to his chest.

As their assailants lay unconscious, Vector picked himself back up.

"I think our old buddy was trying to send us a message." The crocodile began, dusting himself off.

"That won't stop me." Espio said, crossing his arms. "That scum deserves to be behind bars for the rest of his natural life and I intend to make sure that's exactly what he gets."

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Leviathan

Description: The third general of Metal X, leader of the Machine Federation Navy.


	22. Episode 11, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X- etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: Cosmo

Age: 15

Description: A Seer from Maginary world, on her own quest.

* * *

Several months ago in the north of Canada, one of the probes belonging to the Eggman Empire located a scattered set of ruins, nearly completely submerged by the perpetual snow. There those ruins had lain undisturbed by man for thousands of years. That is until the Doctor's excavation robots dug a hole straight into it, revealing underneath their scattered remains a concealed chamber. Dr. Eggman lead the excavation himself, and was glad he did. What they unearthed proved more valuable than all the gold in Fort Knox. 

Ancient machines, far more advanced a technology then he had ever seen in his entire life. Even his Grandfather, the late Prof. Gerald Robotnik would have been hard pressed to create something like this. One thing was already clear the minute he retrieved the first relics; complex pieces of technology that outpaced his. Whoever built this, was NOT human.

Reluctantly leading Tails, Chuck and Knuckles through the Canadian snow banks to the secret of his recent military success, Eggman snowed them the tunnel entrance through which he had discovered the ancient technology. Like he said, the cave like entrance had fallen in, an insurmountable wall of rubble sitting directly in the way.

Luckily however, Knuckles had come prepared. One each hand, he wore his favourite fashion accessory; the Shovel Claws. While his own strength surpassed most others, he needed these metal claws to dig his way through such obstacles.

After a minute of slashing away at boulders, the Echidna finally began to make progress; burrowing his way through the fallen rubble, Knuckles soon had a small tunnel leading through into a area so dark he couldn't see an inch in front of his nose. Chuck had come prepared as well, the flick of a torch light scanning the room beyond; the last few flakes of snow following them in. The blizzard outside was still raging.

"Nobody touch anything." Chuck warned them as they all managed to see inside the strange space. "We don't want to set off another cave in." Eggman, who sat in the comfort of a small robotic walker just grumbled to himself. Decoe and Becoe and his several other Dreadnaught robots were waiting outside. There hadn't been enough room for them all to fit inside anyway.

"Wow!" Tails exclaimed as Chuck cast his torch over the inside of the chamber. Eggman hadn't been lying. This place were filled with ancient machine, all crumbling thanks to the decay of time and the instability of the rocks above and around them. The torch didn't show very much, only that whatever created such extensive machines had access to a technology far in advance of their own.

"This is incredible!" Chuck began, picking up a piece of shattered metal and comparing it to the device he had brought with him. There was no mistake now, the machine had had retrieved from Italy was of the same origin of this strange place.

"I got the technology to make badniks from over there." Eggman stated, pointed over towards the entrance of side tunnel which had been blocked by more fallen rubble. Knuckles began to walk over to it.

"Best not." Tails began, putting out an arm to top him. "Every time we tunnel, we risk the roof falling in."

"The metal itself isn't like anything I've ever seen." Chuck stated, running his hands over a large metal pillar than lanced from a stained floor to the top of an arch ceiling. Most of the architecture of this place was hidden in the darkness, but in the light from the torch a welding of rock and metal never before seen became visible. "It's neither an alloy nor a element in itself."

"There is no such substance." Tails stated looking confused. All metals were either alloys or the primary elements that made them up.

"At least not on this planet." Chuck began with a apprehensive grin. Knuckles and Tails looked up at him in astonishment. "It's not steal, iron, or any metal I know of. And all know all the metals there are in the periodic table."

"So what then?" Tails began, almost unsure of how the phrase the question he was about to ask. "All this was made by…Aliens?"

"That's a possibility I suppose." Eggman began, admiring a piece of metal he'd been able to pry of from a nearby machine that was half submerged in rocks.

"You didn't try to find out where it came from when you first found it?" knuckles asked almost sumptuously. Eggman just shrugged.

"I never look a gift horse in the mouth." He stated with a smirk. "Quite frankly, I didn't care where it came from as long as I helped me conquer the world." The red Echidna levelled his eyes at him.

"I think it would be in our best interests to find out where it came from now. Maybe we can use that information against Metal Sonic." Eggman looked up towards Chuck. "If he's using it, then perhaps it has weakness' we can exploit."

"If it did, my first test results didn't show any." Eggman stated confidentially. "The metal it's made of has an impossibly high boiling point, to melt it down to else you'd need heat close to the surface of a sun." Chuck put a forefinger and thumb to his chin, tapping his foot as he ran several idea's through his head.

"If it runs on Chaos energy, then it's safe to assume Metal Sonic knows where there's more; undamaged machinery. If there isn't, he wouldn't need the Emeralds so badly."

"Sounds logical." Tails stated, sitting down. "Only question is, where is it?"

"It would have to be a unexplored region, somewhere were you don't find a lot of people." Eggman began, looking thoughtful. Knuckles just chuckled, folding his arms.

"Fine, that narrows it down to the Sahara Desert, the Goby desert, the Nevada Desert, the Brazilian rain forest, the north and soul poles…"

"Alright point taken!" The fat scientist snarled at him. Chuck looked up at a large piece of equipment that appeared relatively undamaged. It was a large rectangular pillar with engraved rune like scriptures running down each side. The top half was covered in ancient dust and rocks.

"Maybe this can tell us." Chuck began, wiping away a thick layer of dust from it's surface, exposing the runes. Admittedly, he did not know where to start with this bizarre technology, but eventually he found a square slot directly in the centre and inside this was a small button. He held his breath, before pressing it.

For about a minute, nothing happened and Chuck began to wonder if time had eroded the insides of the machines. Suddenly the hardware stuttered to life, red lights underneath the surface blaring out like stars; the pulse of a heart like thumping resonating throughout the chamber.

**"Hai-ik pal tis gik. Pal tal- histkik zikal."** A flat, emotionless voice stated in a language none of them could understand.

"What the hell was that?" Knuckles asked, looking around for the speaker. Chuck backed away from the machine. In that instant, a pale red light lanced down from one point in the ceiling, passing through the humans head before disappearing.

"How could you have missed that?" Tails asked Eggman.

"I won't here for long enough to find it." Was his defence. The machine buzzed, as if making some calculations to the data it had received.

**"Mind trace completed, language interface adjusted. English, twenty first century." **That same disembodied voice stated, now speaking in perfect English. The lights changing from red to a mint green.** "Information Index now awaiting input."**

"Oh this is good." Chuck began with a grin, rubbing his hands together. He cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Er…Index, specify locations." He hoped that would give them some useful information.

"Please rephrase inquiry."

"Let me." Eggman began, his walker stepping forward. "Index, state locations; Specific Planet Earth."

**"Searching Database." **There was a hushed silence. None of them even bared to breath.** "Three entries found; first entry, secondary scientific research settlement, Location: Planet Earth."**

"State lspecific location." Eggman began, almost hungrily.

**"Location several…."** Before the voice of the ancient computer could finish, a rock came slamming down from the ceiling, crushing his into the ground and silencing the voice in mid sentence. Cracks began tearing their way through the ceiling, dust falling to the floor.

"The roof's unstable!" Knuckles declared. "We've got to get out of here." Another huge rock came slamming down, nearly squashing Eggman. All four of them hurried out of the chamber as fast as they could, clouds of dust bellowing out behind them.

Almost running out into the snow, the tunnel collapsed behind them, finally burying the chamber and it's secrets completely.

"Another couple of seconds and we could have learnt so much!" Chuck moaned, looking furlong.

"Looks like we'll just have to stop Metal Sonic the hard way." Knuckles stated, folding his arms in frustration.

* * *

- 

"Cosmo?" Rouge repeated, letting her sun glasses slide down her nose. With little else to take her, Sonic had brought their visitor; the strange Cosmo back to the beech where the others were waiting. Cream laid out a beech towel and Sonic lowered her down on it. "She looks like Void." The blue hedgehog nodded in agreement.

"Must be the same race." A few people had gathered around, attracted either by the presence of a hero of this strange new being none of them had ever seen. After a while a lifeguard came over to ask what was going on. Since he only spoke Spanish; Chris had to deal with him.

Vanilla checked the girl over. Her sleep was deep and the all the signs were that she had collapsed from exhaustion. She should be alright if given enough time to rest. Cream and Emerl pushed the parasol her mom had bought from the shop nearby over Comso's face so the sun was out of her eyes. Amy took off one of her gloves and put it on the girls forehead. She felt hot, which might have something to do with the tropical climate, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She soaked a clothe in some sea water, wrung it out and placed it on her forehead.

"Ok people, back it up; nothing to see here." Sonic announced to the small crowd, beckoning them off.

"She called Sonic what?" Rouge asked Amy, looking confused. The female bat had bought a one piece swim suit and was distracting a few teenage boys a little further on.

"The Speedster." Amy repeated. "Don't know what it means, just told her what she needed to hear."

"I think the title Speedster fits me well. Speedster, the fastest thing in existence." Sonic said standing nearby, looking up thoughtfully. Rouge just laughed.

"Oh please Sonic, it sounds like the name of a sixties super hero." The blue hedgehog just crossed his arms and stood there sulking. Cosmo opened her blue eyes a little, staring up at the underside of the parasol and the first thing she saw was Vanilla's face.

"Hey, are you ok?" The female rabbit asked her as Cream and Emerl helped her into a sitting position. The girl appeared lost and confused at her new surrounds, putting a hand to her head feeling the wet clothe Amy had put there. Suddenly, memories came flooding back into her eyes and she looked around and finally she spotted Sonic standing nearby with his arms crossed, looking down at her.

It was him, the blue creature with green eyes she had seen in her dreams. The one she had travelled across a dimension rift to find. Him, and his other half.

"Speedster, I am Cosmo. I am a Seer, I have come here to be of service." Sonic cast Amy a nervous glance. The pink hedgehog just shrugged.

"Ok, first of all let's drop this Speedster stuff." The blue hedgehog began, kneeling down so they were face to face. "The name is Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog." Cosmo just smiled.

"Name regardless, you are the one of the two I saw." Loosing some strength in her arms, she collapsed back to the towel. "Speedster, one half of a whole. Opposite of the Shade." Sonic blinked, something clicking into place in his mind.

"The Shade?" He had heard her mention this before but wasn't able to understand what it meant before now. "You mean Shadow?" She nodded, some force dragging her eyes down.

"Sonic and Shadow, Speedster and Shade." Cosmo began. Sonic grumbled angrily to himself, turning away; but in actuality more confused than angry. "I am a student of Queen Illumina of Magianryworld, of the Seer House." Cosmo explained. "One night, I had a vision in my dreams of a pair who became one, united against a great darkness." She pointed weekly towards the blue hedgehog. "You were one of them."

"And this darkness?" Amy asked. Cosmo suddenly froze, looking up in terror, before shuddering involuntarily and lying back down.

"Please don't make me think about that." She began, shivering in fear. "Just the memory of it scares me. It was horrible, an evil filled with unlimited hatred." Sonic turned back. He didn't go in for all this seer, fortune cookie, read your fortune stuff but by the look of pure terror on Cosmo's face, he could tell that she believed it. "I saw myself in that vision as well, standing by your side as water around you parted and a monster tried to swallow you whole." She put another hand to her head. "I don't remember the rest." Her tone was almost apologetic.

"I'm surprised they're letting anyone leave Maginaryworld after that stunt Void pulled." Cosmo looked up towards Rouge in surprise.

"You know Void?" Sonic nodded. "When I left, he was still standing in a tribunal for war crimes against the Mistress, but with her intentions revealed it looked like he might be pardoned." The blue hedgehog, who had tried to wash his hands of all that Maginaryworld politics just shuddered and turned his back. "My vision told me of the darkness, and so against the rules of the mistress I left for this world." She managed a smile. "Dimension crossing is a draining experience for someone who has not mastered dimensional travel." No wonder she had been so exhausted when they found her, Sonic thought to himself.

Meanwhile, just offshore; a small periscope ascending from the waters and watched the blue hedgehog and his friends for a while before vanishing again. Below the waves, Leviathan and an entire battalion of his best Metal X clan members waited. In the water, Metal Sonic's general converted to submariner mode, his two stumpy legs clasping together to form a very effective fish like tail. His clan mimicked the skill, only on a far smaller scale. Their General was a deep blue, while they were brownie red.

From his observations, Leviathan had not seen any Chaos Emerald, although residual energy traces of Chaos energy were high. There was a distinct possibility that Sonic had already taken the Emerald and transported it away. If that was the case, the General fell back onto his secondary orders, to destroy all those who opposed the Machine Federation. Targets such as Amy and Sonic were classed as off limits. Metal Sonic wanted to finish those two himself. The others however, Chris, Vanilla, Emerl, Cream and this new girl his records were not able to put a label to; were far game as far as the Master was concerned.

Gesturing with his fined right arm, he ordered his Clan members behind them to advance.

Cream offered Cosmo her ice cream. Cosmo however had come from a dimension where such a thing did not exist and it took a while for her to realise that she was being offered food.

"Do we really need her help?" Chris asked Sonic out of ear shot. Sonic tapped his foot against the sand.

"I don't think she's going to leave willingly any time soon." He stated. Cosmo had seemed almost desperate to be around, as if something terrible would happen if she were not. They might as well keep her happy by letting her tag along. "Ok then, we take her back with us."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Chris asked sceptically. Sonic just shrugged.

"No clue, but if not; then we find out the fun way." Chris asked him a side glance. Sonic never liked to plan ahead. He was far too spontaneous for that. He was the sort that believed that no amount of preparation could help you with the twists life threw at you.

A small hissing sound was brought to his attention and he turned back to the water where it was coming from. Two jets streams were spraying out of the waves just off shore ,coming closer and closer. These Sonic recognised as torpedoes.

Pushing Chris to the floor, the two of them narrowly avoided a pair of projectiles that came streaming out of the water, up the beach before exploding in the air. People began screaming and running as more torpedoes began flying through the air, large metal bulks surfacing near the water.

"Metal X!" Sonic exclaimed.

"The water shall attack you." Cosmo repeated, fear suddenly filling her eyes; the first part other vision coming true before her very eyes. Sonic cast her a glance over her shoulder, before looking back towards the water as shark like roots began lifting themselves out of the shallows, long arms with sharp talons unfolding from their undersides. Their back fins separating into two legs and began marching up the beech.

Amy cast her hammer spinning through the air, it's blunt edge colliding with the closest robot knocking it over before returning to her hand.

Sonic went rushing forward slamming a punch into another before grabbing it by it's arm and tossing it forward into another. The remaining five turned and fired several missiles in his direction. Sonic back flipped and spun his legs around, using the momentum to kick each of the projectiles back towards their origins.

One of the robots exploded, unable to defend it while the other ducked and the missiles past right over them. By now the beach was deserted apart from Sonic and the others and more shark like robots were beginning to emerge from the water, a small army marching up onto the land.

Emerl lifted both arms and with a single thrust, each metal hand went rocketing forward, smashing themselves into two of the enemy robots, grabbing their metal frames and smashing them against each other; the two robots exploding in a fire storm.

Amy's hammer was sending several of their number at a time flying into the air, before another two ending up impaled on the sharp end of her weapon. With huge gaping holes torn in the back of their heads, they collapsed to the sand.

Spinning around on one spot for a minute to built momentum, Sonic went rocketing forwards smashing into robot after robot before sending a final one spiralling back into the ocean with a flying kick. Rebounding off the sand, Sonic came back around towards small army slashing straight into them, super fast punches and kicks flying through the air.

Cosmo watched from afar as fragments of metal went flying. Everything was happening just as she had seen. This exact battle, right down to the last punch and kick. If she was right, then Sonic would…yes; he somersaulted backwards twice over Amy before bright his leg down sharply on the head of a nearby shark like robot.

There was no question now. Sonic was indeed the Speedster, her vision had anticipated his every move in this battle; and if remained true to form…Cosmo looked off towards the sea.

The waves were beginning to break open and a sudden rush, a colossal shape broke up from the water, a metallic form shaped like a giant shark with a several large fins lining two giant arms. Several rows of razor sharp teeth sitting behind a line of metallic lips, snapping open and shut as the giant bulk pulled itself up into the shallows; two large turrets on it's shoulders pivoting around to point indirectly inland.

"Woah momma!" Sonic exclaimed, sliding back to a safe distance as this metal giant cast a shadow over them all. The remaining robots shrank back and former a semi circle around the, using the large presence of their Clan Leader to emphasize their presence.

_"I am Leviathan, third General of Metal X."_ The giant announced._ "Residual Chaos Energy is still high, where the Emerald?"_ Sonic smirked at him.

"Sorry pall, wrong place. No Emerald here." Leviathan's eyes blared bright red in anger.

_"Do not insult me, I know you have it."_ A thick stream of bullets passed from the weapons on his shoulders, embedding themselves in the sand near the blue hedgehog's feet. _"Hand it over!"_ Picking her hammer out of the ground, Amy stood beside Sonic holding her weapon with both hands.

"We don't have any Emerald, but if you want a fight you've got one!" Leviathan pulled himself up to what looked like a sitting position. In terms of stature, he was the largest of Metal X. But Sonic knew size was rarely a reflection of strength.

_"Lord Metal Sonic has already stated that you are his and his alone." _Leviathan stated and slowly he turned his head towards the remaining five who stood a little further down the beech._ "Them however."_ He gestured with his right hand the his remaining Clan robots turned towards them. Vanilla grabbed Cream and started running, with Emerl and Cheese following closely behind. Rouge remained ready in a fighting stance and Cosmo just stood there silently looking distant.

"Over my dead body." Sonic declared, stepping between the advancing robots as the others. Leviathan glared at him.

"I may get in trouble with the Master, but if you insist!"

* * *

(Can Sonic beat Leviathan? Can Cosmo help? Did Aliens really leave that technology behind? So many unanswered questions! Find out next time on Sonic X, The third general. Don't miss it!)


	23. Episode 12

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!

Episode 12: The Third General

* * *

Sonic spun about in mid air and smashed a fist directly in Leviathan's large face, but the armoured skin proved to strong to even dent. 

Leviathan turned as the blue hedgehog shot overhead. The large machine gun turrets on each of the shoulders rotated around and shot a volley straight through the air, nearly grazing Sonic on the leg. Sliding through the streams of deadly fire, Sonic sent the giant Metal X general stumbling back into the shallows, crushing one of his clan robots underneath his giant fin-like foot.

The others, undeterred by the destruction of their comrade formed ranks in front of their master; a protective blockade keeping Sonic away from him as Leviathan raised it's arms; two secret compartments opening on it's limbs and missiles flying through the air.

Sonic spun his legs around in a whirlwind, kicking the missiles out of the way before souring over each robot and smashing a flying kick directly into Leviathan's chest plate. Forging a dent in the armour, Sonic rebounded off the giant robot before spinning in mid air and smashing a kick into the back of Leviathan's head. Holding out one hand to steady himself, the giant came back across with a punch; sending Sonic flying back across the beach rolling through the sand.

Instantly missiles were flying through the air as the blue hedgehog struggled to pull himself up. Flying in to his defence, Rouge deflected the missiles with her own spinning kick technique; the ensuring vortex throwing the projectiles off course so they sent harmlessly into the side of the sand bank, several more sent flying back straight towards Leviathan.

Ducking into the water, the Metal X general managed to avoid the brunt of his own attack as it rocketed over him into sea.

"Better late than never." Sonic commented with a smirk before racing across the sands.

Amy swung her hammer around sharply in an arch, batting a robot away and into the air; defending Cream from an attack. But just as that one robot fell, another three seemed to take its place and even more Metal X reserves were marching out of the ocean. It was as if Leviathan had an entire army down there.

Cosmo watched from afar with wide eyes. Everything in her vision was coming true, it was all true. If she had been honest with herself, she would admit that she had doubted it all. But now there could be no question. The authenticity of it all was lying before her eyes and if this part of it was correct, then; to her great horror the final part must also come true.

Memories of that single horrifying image refused to leave. Never before in her entire life had she seen such darkness. Evil of a scale inconceivable, an ancient hatred so powerful it hurt like the strongest poison even from a single glance of it.

"COSMO!" Someone screamed and the young seer blinked, coming back into the present; seeing the image of a Metal X Navy clan robot standing over her; it's talons held high ready to strike. A second before it could, the curved blade like edge of Amy's hammer impale it's way through it's head; jagged piece of curved metal go flying into the air before it collapsed to the ground.

Cosmo staggered backwards, collapsing to the sand as Amy pulled her hammer free. "Go on, run!" The pink hedgehog told her, jabbing a finger after Cream and her mom, before turning back to the battle and the steady stream of robots emerging from the deep.

Rouge swung a kick into a robot, shattering it into piece before spinning around in mid air, head butting another before using her wings to blow it over. As it lay on the sand, he stamped down with both feet punch a hole straight through its torso. The number of enemies around her steadily increasing, the female bat swung her leg up and smashed an upper kick directly into one of their heads, before bringing her other leg around and tearing it's legs clean off.

A third swiped her across the back with it's talons as she staggered forward, hissing in pain, before spinning around and impaling the steal tip of her boot straight through it's head.

Sonic never touched the water; he leapt off the beech, struck a blow against Leviathan's body, defending himself against contour attack before returning to the beach again to repeat the whole process. A technique that showed his more than infamous fear of water, but it was proving rather effective. Combing the routine with his speed was enabling him to do a sufficient amount of damage.

Unfortunately that left him open to attack. Once Leviathan had anticipated his moves, he countered Sonic's fifth attempt at a spin attack before grabbing one of his legs and pinning him in the shallows.

Forced under the water, Sonic struggled in vain to pull himself to the surface; clawing desperately at it. Leviathan's large metal hand keeping both legs pinned to the bottom. The giant robot kept his victim submerged, trying to drown him, heedless that his master had ordered him to stay clear.

Then with a loud clank, Amy's hammer collided with Leviathan's shoulder; demolishing one of his turrets with a ball of flames; forcing the giants body backwards with an explosion that nearly blew apart his entire arm. Once freed of he grip, Sonic spun to the surface, shattering the entire metal hand. With that destroyed, Leviathan was forced back into the deeper waters; only his bust appearing above the waves.

As Sonic coughed up a great deal of salty water, Amy joined him by his side.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked Sonic pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, wiping a great deal of seawater from his lips.

"Yeah fine." He lied. That experience had done him a lot more psychological damage than physical. The water had always scared him, that was no secret; but being forced underneath it, struggling for air that brought back to him in a sudden rush one of his very first memories; the raging storm tossing him around in a maelstrom, the current pulling him under. **–Come on, keep it together- **he kept telling himself before forcing himself into a fighting stance.

* * *

- 

While the best way of getting information was to go direct to go direct to the source, sometimes it proved profitable to take a side road. That was one of the many lessons a successful detective had to learn. Vector had learned those lessons himself the hard way, and now he was passing them on to the younger members of the agency. In this job, a detective needed every advantage they could.

Of course, Rei had his own advantages. It was an ability he had never questioned as it had always been there. Truth just seemed to leap out at him, even while others were doing their best to conceal it. Anything important or dangerous alerted him to its presence even before it arrived. Espio had called this precognition but to Rei, it's name meant very little. It was just something he had had since he had been born, as natural to him as breathing.

"New deals are always going down." Their contact explained, a homeless man, who like most of the people they did business with was more than he appeared. "Sometimes of course, some are bigger than others; so big in fact they involve some of the big business."

"Such as?" Beck, another of Chaotix's new recruits asked. Their contact just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, for a number of reasons, as example; I heard that G.U.N is looking for an arms or new technologies company to take up the job of the national defence grid." Beck as Rei cast each other a quizzical glance.

"National what?" They asked in unison. The old man folded his arms.

"All I know are rumours. After that whole business in Britain, the Government's been lookin' for more effective ways to defend against the Eggman Empire and that supposed Machine Federation. What they're looking for is a company to produce new weapons for use by the defenders, and that starts a lot of competition among hopefuls. Some of them even resort to hiring criminals to steal their rivals' plans or sabotage their efforts."

"How do you know so much about this?" Beck asked looking suspicious.

"I used to be the President of an arms company until the cold war ended and was done for selling arms to the Russians."

Now finally with a lead, they began poking around. According to various sources, the big business poised to claim the government contract was Hexagon; a large new technologies company already providing the mass majority of funds and scientific research for G.U.N. Their company grew so large because they took the place of the Foundation Organisation after it was revealed to be facade for a dark Cult.

Apparently, Hexagon had a reputation for illegal activities in the Underground but never left enough proof for a substantial finger of the law to be pointed at them. As the big cheese in the economy, Hexagon was coming under near constant competition by the smaller companies.

Travelling back to the agency with their information, Rei went over the details in his mind. If Fang the Sniper had been employed by some company trying to sabotage their competitors it would explain his theft and arson at the G.U.N base. But something didn't fit with that theory. According to Espio's sources, the stolen equipment was classified as seized Eggman Empire technology. Hardly created by rivalling companies.

Still, there might be something there worth keeping an eye on.

"Ok, this is what we got." Vector began as the four of them met back at the office, Charmee asleep at the crocodile's desk. Everyone else had gone home by now. "We've been able to trace that stolen equipment to an underground auction on the East Side of town, tomorrow night. It's a fair chance we'll find a lead there. How'd yo guys do?" Beck told them all about the supposed competition between the big arms companies for a government contract and their theory that Fang could be working for one of those. "Right, good work; work that angle for a while and see what you can dig up. I'll go to this auction alone, less conspicuous that way." Espio rolled his eyes, imagining letting the crocodile loose in a group of criminals. Given Vector's impulsive nature, he'd probably attack every one of them there. "Esp, see what you can dig up on Hexagon. If my intuition's right, there may be a connection."

"I think I might be able to get something out of them." Espio began, folding his arms. "But I'll need Rei to come with me." The flying squirrel looked up in surprise.

"Why me?" Rei asked looking surprised.

"Yeah why him?" Vector added.

"This guy wants us to catch Nack, but they're suits; and those guys aren't exactly renowned for sharing information." The chameleon explained, but Rei caught the distinct feeling that he was concealing something. Vector looked at his comrade sceptically.

"You think they'll try to lead you on?"

"Probably for a while, so I'd like to chase to the chase instead of letting them toy with me." Vector crossed his arms and began muttering to himself.

"Alright fine, you two see what you can get out of those guys; I'll work the underground scene, while Beck continued to follow up on that lead." He paused for a moment. "But be careful, Espio and I had a little visit from a few of the Weasel's cronies earlier so he knows we're after him." With little else to do until the morning, Vector bid the rest of them goodnight and went into his rooms.

"Do you really need me?" Rei asked the chameleon once Beck had carried Charmee back to his own bed.

"I just wanted to get you away from Vector's suicidal idea." Espio explained with a sigh. He caught the flying squirrels startled look. "Don't worry about him, he'll be fine; so long as he doesn't bring anyone into the line of fire."

* * *

- 

As of yet, Chuck had failed to come up with a single plausible theory to explain the advanced technology they had seen crushed by a cave in.

"Come on guys, I mean, just how likely is it that…_Aliens_…made all that?" Knuckles asked sceptically, crossing his arms.

"What other explanation can you think of?" Chuck asked, shaking his coat so the excess snow fell off. On the way back to the Mystic Ruins, their group had stopped to put together their ideas. Half buried in snow was an abandoned log cabin. Becoe and Decoe had set up a portable electric fire and Eggman and Tails gathered around it. Despite his fur, Tails could feel the cold just as badly as Eggman. "That computer had been set in a language no one here on Earth speaks and to top it off, that single piece of hardware was one of the most advanced pieces of technology I've ever seen."

"But Aliens?" Knuckles asked, closing the door on the two Dreadnaughts Eggman had left outside to guard their position along with his Egg Walker that couldn't fit through the front door. Ever since his Egg Carrier's crash sight had come under attack by Metal X he wasn't taking any chances.

"You're living proof." Chuck added, looking up coyly. The Cabin they'd found was completely empty apart from a blackened fireplace and a few chairs. Probably an old ranger station the locals had forgotten about in the last few years.

"Mobians are from a different reality, technically humans and mobians are from the same planet; just a different dimension."

"Mobians are not from Earth, and so by a dictionary definition that makes you an alien."

"Ah, but Mobius and Earth are now the same planet; that makes a human as much an alien as a mobian."

"Are we going to be arguing this all day?" Eggman asked, looking irritated. "Who cares who or what made it? Whatever the answer, that still doesn't change the fact that Metal Sonic plans to use it against us." He rubbed his hands together and blew on them to warm them up. Becoe passed him a scarf and his creator wrapped it around his shoulders.

"What I'd like to know is why it runs on Chaos Energy." Tails began looking thoughtful. "Did it all run on Chaos?" Eggman, who was busy roasting the contents of a tin of Spam on the electric fire, just nodded. "That means whoever made it had a source of energy of their own, other than an Emerald."

"Makes sense." Chuck said scratching the back of his head.

"I always thought Chaos energy was unique to the Emeralds." Knuckles admitted.

"I had a chance to experiment on Chaos Emeralds when Sonic first arrived." Chuck told him. "I discovered that the energy contained within each one had the potential to be unlimited, but that potential could only be unlocked by reuniting all seven. That kind of unstable power is very rare; the kind of instability you're likely to find right before a sun explodes."

"I once tried to duplicate a Chaos Emerald, with explosive results." Eggman added with a chuckle, finishing off his meal. "None of us could ever hope to control Chaos Energy effectively; only my Grandfather knew how to manipulate it and whatever he made on the process he ever made have been destroyed. With the exception of Shadow." He forged a smile. "What I wouldn't give to compare notes."

"Yeah, what's sharing a little research one madman to another?" Knuckles asked with a smirk. Eggman shot him a glare over his shoulder.

"Ok, let's just recap what we know." Chuck began quickly before a fight could break out. "This technology runs on Chaos energy, is extremely advanced and both Metal Sonic and Hexagon have a good lot of it."

"Correct." Eggman replied.

"We know what Metal Sonic wants it for; to take over the world and we can guess Hexagon wants it to stay ahead in the new technologies market." Tails looked back at him.

"So far we've not learnt anything we didn't already know." Chuck just smiled.

"Actually, we learnt something very important." Everyone looked at him with quizzical looks on their faces. "While we knew there was more technology out there to find, we thought there was only one set which Metal Sonic planned to use. Before it got crushed, the computer told us there was more than one sight of technology on this planet. Maybe dozens if my theory is correct."

"Can you get to the point?" Eggman barked. Knuckles growled at him.

"My point is…" Chuck began sourly. "If Metal Sonic can use this technology, why cant we? All we have to do is get hold of a piece intact and study it. That should even the playing field."

"Oh brilliant deduction sherlock." Eggman muttered sarcastically. "And how do you suggest we go about doing this?" Chuck hesitated.

"I don't know." He admitted with a short grin. "But give me enough time and I'm sure I'll think of something."

* * *

- 

Seeing their General's amputation, Leviathan's clan robots doubled back from their fighting and waded out into the sea to form the best protective barrier they could. Lose strands of energy sparked around the jagged stump where his arm had been, wires hanging freely in the air from the gapping wound.

Two clan robots swung at Sonic, two twisted in the air and smashed a kick into each of them at the same time. Another came at him from behind, ducking under the swing Sonic landed several punches against its large chest plate before adding on final blow to the head.

Amy's hammer swung through the air again and again, sending robot after robot souring across the beach and into the water, fragments scattering across the sand. It seemed the more she struck down, the more than came marching out of the waves. They were coming at her in ranks, a never-ending march of metallic enemies.

Leviathan tested the stump where his arm had been. All systems for the weapons on that side of his body had shut down, leaving him with only half his arsenal.

A loud blaring of sirens began to pulse through the air and the Spanish police in their squad cars began souring across the road leading down to the beach. Hardly the local G.U.N garrison troops Sonic had been hoping for. Seeing their arrival, three clan robots blocked the road and as soon as their drivers were forced to stop, swung their claws down, breaking open the bonnet; steam belching up from the dented engine.

Searching, the cops bailed out the side door and made a break for it.

The robots started after them, but suddenly flying in their way was Rouge, landing a succession of kicks directly into their metal bodies knocking them over.

_"LEVIATHAN!" The_ Master of Metal X nearly screamed down the com-system, making the General shudder involuntarily._ "Just what do you think you are doing?"_ Metal Sonic had been watching most of the battle from the Behemoth's own sensors and while it amused him that Sonic had nearly drowned, he could not allow anyone else to take the pleasure of killing him. That honour was his and his alone.

_"Looking for the Chaos Emerald as you ordered my Lord."_ Was his General's defence, one that did not impress his master too much.

_"There is no Chaos Emerald there, only residual energy left by a dimensional warp."_ Now that Metal Sonic had had time to make a proper sweep of the area with his battleships sensors he found that the Chaos energy spikes had already begun to dissipate with only one explanation for it._ "I was watching the fight General; you tried to disobey my direct orders! Return to the Behemoth at once!"_ Letting an enemy go and a fight half finished went against nearly every computer program in Leviathan's body. Sonic was listed as enemy number one and the Machine Federation never let any enemy escape alive. The compartments on the metal giant's remaining arm opened up, more missiles preparing to launch.

"Sonic look out!" Cosmo cried and the blue hedgehog turned just in time to see the missiles come flying through the air towards him. Cupping his hands, he paused only long enough to gather the energy required before firing a Sonic Wind Vortex straight at them. The swirling blue energy tore through the missiles, imploding them harmlessly; decimating what remained of Leviathan's clan robots before smashing with tremendous force into the General himself.

Armour plating was ripped from his body, before the ruined body and cast directly into the sea.

_"General, I gave you an order!" Metal _Sonic reminded the giant as Leviathan heaved itself just above the surface; now terribly weakened. _"This is your last chance."_ Authority overriding the seek and destroy program, Leviathan obeyed and his form vanished, teleporting back to the ship in orbit. Whatever remained of his clan robots vanishing with him.

Metal Sonic reminded the giant as Leviathan heaved itself just above the surface; now terribly weakened. Authority overriding the seek and destroy program, Leviathan obeyed and his form vanished, teleporting back to the ship in orbit. Whatever remained of his clan robots vanishing with him. 

Sonic breathed out a sigh, wiping his forehead.

"Thanks for the heads up." He told Cosmo with a smile, giving her a thumbs up.

"It was nothing." She began, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I only did what my visions showed me to do."

"I don't go in for all that 'seeing the future' stuff." Sonic admitted with levelled eyes. Cosmo suddenly looked confused.

"Don't you have seer's on your world?" She asked, apparently genuinely surprised if they hadn't.

"What, you mean crystal ball reading, tarrot cards; that sort of thing?" Cosmo shook her head.

"A seer, a real seer, doesn't need those things. Visions come through the night in dreams, it is up to fate to decide if the preceptor is able to read them correctly or if they just taken as a jumbled collection of thoughts."

"Dreams?" Sonic asked again sceptically. "You mean you crossed dimensions because of what you saw in a dream?" Cosmo nodded as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. "Wouldn't it have made more sense to talk to someone about it?" At that point, the green haired girl lowered her eyes.

"They would not believe me. They told me the darkness I saw in my vision could not possibly exist and then dismissed it entirely. But I knew I had to come here, to help; why else was I shown it?"

"The future's not set in stone." Sonic replied stubbornly, uncomfortable with the idea of predestined futures.

"The future is written." Cosmo continued. Just as stubborn as the blue hedgehog. "But can be that writing can be changed by out decisions." Sonic just looked dumbfounded for an instant.

"That makes no sense at all!"

"Deviation doesn't, that's the whole point to it all."

"Say what?"

"Being a Seer, one has to make sense out of chaos; that's the job."

"Amy, talk to this girl!" The blue hedgehog began in exasperation, throwing his arms up.

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Rouge

Sex: Female

Species: Bat

Description: Agent of Freelance Devision.


	24. Episode 12, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc- sorry; short chappie!)

* * *

Flip card 2: 

Name: Doctor Eggman

Sex: Male

Species: Human

Description: The infamous doctor seeks to conquer the world with his army of robots, yet comes up against a wall with both Sonic and his own creation Metal Sonic.

* * *

Faced with a new enemy, one twice as ruthless and powerful as the Eggman Empire; the President was forced to consider a new initiative for security. One that provided the nation, no the entire world the defence it required but at the same time maintaining the civil rights and democracy they were so desperate to protect.

As if he hadn't enough to do dealing with ruthless invaders, he had to work out what the Elite did to try and take over the world and undo it.

Back to the present task at hand, G.U.N generals were suggesting on a world wide response force to deal with the threats. A force that could act independently at any given time, free to engage the enemy in any way they saw fit and allowed access to the most advanced Mech and combat systems currently in the military arsenal. And, to top it off, an arms company nearly constantly updating their arms capability.

The President disliked giving so much power to an individual group, but he supposed in such times it was a necessary evil.

Right now, rival companies were striving to perfect a new combat robot for the G.U.N army. Whichever impressed the President the most, would get the contract and supply the new combat force with the equipment. From the Oval Office, he could see the robot prototypes being marched out on the lawn in front of the White House. Some of them looked very impressive, but the individual demonstrations would come before any decisions were made.

"They're all ready Mr. President." Christina began, opening the door from a separate office.

"Very well." The President began, joining her on a walk outside. Lined up in a row outside on the lawn, were the representatives and heads of various arms and new technology companies, along with their robot prototypes. A large crowd had gathered the gates to watch and several new crews were waiting to broadcast it all live. The president had decided to reinforce public morale by showing them what kind of fire power the defenders to protect them with. As this was his last term in office, he intended to do as much good for the world as possible before resigning from his station.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, live from the White House; where in a few minutes time the President will personally choose from several prototypes to be the main force for the new; but as of yet un-named-strike force." Scarlet, a reporter made famous by her reports ranging from Perfect Chaos to the Egg Fleet, told her watching audience at home; all two million of them. "And, yes I can see just behind me the President emerging from the White House just now." The red head began, turning as the leader of the United States along with his personal assistant and several men in black suits marched out of the front door.

The robots lined up for inspection ranged in nearly all shapes and sizes, some built like humans, others like spiders and even one modelled on a tank. At the far end of the lawn were a large series of cardboard cut outs depicting tanks, planes, Dreadnaught robots and Eggman himself. As the demonstrations got underway, the first hopefully; developed if you believe it or not by Microsoft began forward. The robot was spider shaped with four legs and several missile launching pads on a raised platform.

After a moment of silence, two missiles launched out with a thick stream of black smoke trailing out behind it. One missile hit the Tank target, before flying past it all and blasting a hole in the fence. Apparently, this was one contract Microsoft wasn't going to obtain.

As more of the prototypes took their turns, more and more of the targets began to disappear; replaced one by one with duplicates. Finally, the last of them took its turn. This robot was twice the size of the average human, with long articulated metal arms with two long machine guns on the end of each hand instead of fingers. The feet were large, flat and round with two long pivoted toes. Wires and cables interwove a near skeletal like frame, all winding up pistons to a large square head with a single blood red eye on its left hand side. It's shoulders and forelegs were protected by two large sheets of steal armour, painted in jungle camouflage colours. It footsteps were long and heavy, the ground trembling slightly each time it put a foot down, yet it strode with a precise grace that all the others lacked.

Both arms unfolded and the machines guns tore the air open with an intense barrage of bullets, ripping the cardboard cut outs of Eggman and his two hence-bots Becoe and Decoe apart, before two missiles cut through disintegrating two Dreadnaught cut outs.

"Very Impressive." The President began clapping, turning to the well dressed man who represented the company who made this new combat unit. "What do you call this?"

"This is the first of the new Zeus line sir." He replied. "Bullet proof armour, magnetic missile repel system, an advances artificial intelligence system guiding the brain and armed with some on the most deadly ammunition known to man. We've already created several variants specialised for combat in urban, jungle, desert and even frozen territory." Finishing its demonstration, the large machine retracted its machine guns into its arms that folded around in front of its near empty chest cavity.

"Well there's confirmation for you!" Eggman stated after cursing, jabbinga finger angrily towards the television set. Chuck and his group had just returned from Canada to Tails workshop in the Mystic Ruins. It was dark by the time they got back. Tails had been used to the tinkling lights from Station Square just across the bay but with the city deserted all they could see from the water facing window was darkness. The rest of them weren't back from their Chaos Emerald hunting yet, so they had the place to themselves. Since the entrance to the engineering levels was hidden underneath the stairs leading to the bedrooms, Tails was keeping Eggman away from it. While their alliance with the scientist was required in their new fight against Metal X, none of them trusted him. He was a liar, a cheat and a traitor; and those were his good points.

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles asked. Eggman jabbed a fat finger again at the TV.

"That robot, it's as advanced as my badniks; it was made from that ancient technology!" Chuck was instantly on the sofa, staring at the news report.

"And it appears Hexagon is the winner of the competition with their new Zeus." Scarlet Garcia was saying, standing next to the corporation's representative and their seven-foot combat unit. The President was shaking hands with the representative, after signing a contract a good number of reporters taking pictures, the flashes from multiple cameras lighting up the screen.

"At least we know why Hexagon was so interested in it." Chuck began, sounding angry. "I mean look at it, if that wasn't made from the same hardware as the Badniks I'll turn in my science community membership card."

"It's an insult!" Eggman snarled. "I'm the authority on robotics on this planet, I'm the one who makes battle machines!"

"And you do it so well…"

"But this…" The scientist continued with shaking fists. "Monstrosity, is a direct insult to my name. I'll make them pay for this!"

"Let's deal with Metal Sonic first." Said a voice, turning around they all saw Sonic standing in the door way, the X tornado settled on the ground outside. Amy was helping Cream and Vanilla out of the plane. What they noticed was when they all got inside was the lack of a Chaos Emerald to show for it. Rouge had already gone to report back to Freelance Division. Apparently they wanted a full report after the Spanish Government began throwing around words like disaster and catastrophe.

"Who's this?" Tails asked as Cosmo walked in, looking in awe at the large collection of unique characters around her.

"Cosmo." Sonic replied, putting his feet up on the sofa. "She'll be staying with us for a while." Tails looked their new visitor over. She was obviously of Void's race, but looked sufficiently taller then he had been. Her hair and most of her clothes were a leaf green and her eyes like his were a deep blue. She looked surprised by the building design of the workshop, being used to structures made out of crystal.

Magnary world was by its very nature an unstable place. The only place that wasn't constantly altering itself was it's very centre; kept placid by the presence of the Temple of Light. Inside which was Precious Stone, a force that stabilised Chaos. As the guardian of the stone, Queen Illumina was the unquestioned ruler of their people and with her power, was considered a goddess.

Cosmo came from a bloodline of seers who had been part of Seer house for some time. She was youngest five sisters, chosen for their abilities of foresight and precognition. They were all skilled, but while her sisters excelled she began to lag, visions and signs either passing her by or missing her completely. Her tutors told her that this did not mean her own power had limits, rather she could not concentrate during her mediation.

While she had given over to Sonic that she went in for this Seer thing, in reality she found it tedious and annoying. Her family had a long tradition of precognition, but as the black sheep want she wanted to do was to be a scout. Occasionally their people sent scouts out to other more stable dimensions to study the many different cultures and civilisations that sprung up on inhabitable planets. She had been contemplating that as her future, when her vision came to her. Then she knew that her destiny lay in this world.

From the first look she had of this culture, it became clear that this society used local materials to construct their dwellings, unlike her people who grew crystallised structures. It seemed that such a thing was not likely to work here, the laws of physics were different in this reality.

After Sonic had explained what had happened in Spain and Tails had gone over their own adventure in the North of Canada everyone sat down to think over their position. So far all they had where a few wild theories, but at least they'd learnt of the presence of more advanced technology, which was something at least. Eggman contributed very little to the drawing of the plans, speaking only when spoken to. It was already obvious to all of them that he hated this alliance more than anything, but that only reinforced Sonic's prediction that he would betray them at the first given opportunity.

"Catch." Someone called and Knuckles turned, just in time to reach out and catch a Chaos Emerald as someone tossed it through the air. The Echidna brought is hand back down to find the light blue Emerald sitting in his palm.

Standing in the doorway as Major Okida.

"Thanks." Sonic called over. The Major just saluted with two fingers before disappearing, the sound of a chopper lifting off shortly following. Knuckles past the Emerald to the blue hedgehog after he noticed Eggman staring at it greedily.

"Ok, that's something." Amy began. "But we're still behind Metal Sonic by a one Emerald."

"And these aren't what I'd call precise." Sonic added, passing the watch like machine Chuck had made for them back to him. "And did you have to make it bleep like that?"

* * *

It was no secret, Metal Sonic was outraged. One of his Generals had disobeyed an order; and he had already let it be known that he would not tolerate insubordination. When Leviathan reported in for repairs, the technician systems noted that he had more injuries than the ones he had sustained in battle.

The first thing Dark Oak noticed as he entered the master's chamber were a few insect like robots clearing away the scattered remains of Leviathan's armour. A thin trail of wreckage leading up to Metal Sonic himself who stood at his usual post, directly next to his throne staring out of the window down towards the Earth. He was absolutely silent, standing there with his arms crossed, his cape flowing out behind him.

Floating silently in a pillar of white light nearby where the three Chaos Emeralds the Machine Federation had been able to gather thus far. The green Emerald, The Red Emerald and the Grey Emerald, all were rotating around in a tight circle._"No progress?"_ The robotic hedgehog asked, looking back over his shoulder.

_"No my Lord."_ Dark Oak replied._ "The remaining Chaos Signals are being masked."_

Metal Sonic remained still for a second, before turning back towards the window. After a moment of silence, the remaining Generals joined Dark Oak's side. All of them had undergone technological upgrade. Like his clan robots, Equinox had remoulded his legs to look like a Spiders; his design changed from the original knight to a bizarre insect centaur. As for Lancelot, he had maintained the Knight façade but as the head of the Air Force Clan had built himself a pair of bat like wings sprouting out from his shoulders. A long segmented tail with a blade like eyes trailed out behind him, giving him a very dragon like look. As for Dark Oak himself, he had included very little upgrades. He had treated himself only to some new hardware that improved speed, strength and armour. In terms of design he had changed very little._"This rate of progress is unacceptable."_ Their Master began, turning to face them; his half eclipsed round eyes burning a blood red. _"Three Emeralds is not enough. I require maximum results."_

_"My Lord."_ Equinox began, scuttling forward on his new eight legs. _"Our experiments with duplication are producing very positive results, I truly believe we may be able to produce the energy you require."_ Metal Sonic stared at his last General for a moment, before the glow from his eyes began to die away.

_"However."_ Lancelot stated. _"The life force need for conversion can not be found of the Earth, the humans have been polluting it for years."_ Metal Sonic chuckled lightly.

_"That won't be too much of a problem."_ His statement confused Equinox and Lancelot, who honestly did not know what he was talking about. The door at the far end of the chamber swung open and Leviathan slide inside. Apparently he'd taken the time to update himself while being repaired. He'd adopted a more streamlined design, looking more like a shark than he had before. Metal Sonic paid no more attention to his presence and kept talking._ "The hardware we acquired from Eggman can do a lot more than just augment fighting abilities."_ He turned to his first General. _"Are the operation probes ready for deployment?"_

_"A few more tests, we should be able to start soon."_ Leviathan turned toward Equinox._"Duplication? I've seen Doctor Eggman's notes. The process is too dangerous and the results questionable. Is this a reasonable use of our time and resources?"_ Lancelot shot him a side glance.

_"It would save us an Emerald hunt for certain."_

_"Think of the possibilities if we are successful."_ Equinox offered._ "Unlimited energy, complete and utter power."_ The robot turned on all eight legs. _"Surely that is worth the risk?"_

_"And what of the risks?"_ Leviathan asked. _"If a mistake is made…"_

_"We've all had a chance to review the research." Lancelot began. "We all know what can happen if control is lost." _

_"But can we guarantee control?"_ The third general persisted. _"The consequences of a mistake are far too high. I do not believe we should attempt it."_

_"You presume that the ultimate decision is yours."_ Their Master said, gaining their instant attention._ "You're lucky I don't melt you into scrap metal right now."_ Metal Sonic's talon like finger jabbed itself at him, the glow from his eyes intensifying. Leviathan backed off. He had upset his Master quite enough today and wasn't going to push his luck. Metal Sonic kept his iron stare on him for a few moments longer, before turning away, his cape flowing out behind him.

_"__Most of the equipment is operational my lord."_ Dark Oak added, asthe first of his Generalshe wasthe one he most respected._ "All checks have been completed, and the technical bots inform me we can proceed whenever you give the order."_ Metal Sonic folded his arms.

Dark Oak, the first of his Generals and the one he most respected. Metal Sonic folded his arms. 

_"Excellent. Are all energy collectors and laboratories on standby?"_ Dark Oak nodded, sweeping arm in front of himself. _"Then we begin tomorrow morning at ten PM, standard greenish mean time." The_ robotic hedgehog looked down towards the blue planet. _"I want every one of those people to see it."_

* * *

- 

Apart from robots that patrolled the maze of corridors, on the Behemoth there was another presence; one far darker. Metal Sonic's mysterious benefactor always kept himself close by, hiding in the corridors of the ship. Keeping out of the way of the robotic crew was essential, at least for the time being.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. The war between Metal X and the forces of Earth looming on the horizon, the inevitable battle between Sonic and his robot double-ganger, the quest for the seven Chaos Emerald and even the existence of the advanced technology, all of it was part of a grand design; all elementals of a plot centuries old and so far it had all followed the plan step by step.

Waiting in the rafters of an empty storage chamber, the dark presence sat waiting. A silent figure wrapped in a single robe, a metallic mask hiding his face. The glowing green eyes only visible through the visor.

The time would soon be here, when all forces relevant would be brought together and the true event could begin. Of course time wise that all depended who collected all seven Chaos Emeralds first.

Metal Sonic was three, the others were either in Sonic's hands or still scattered. In reality, it mattered not who collected the Emeralds first; so long as the result was the same in the end.

* * *

(In Chris' Voice) 

Cosmo looks like she could be a real help. But there's still so much to do! There's one more Chaos Emerald out there to find. Sonic has to get it before Metal Sonic does! Exactly where did all that ancient machinery come from? Could it really be from outer space like Chuck thinks? Find out next time as Metal Sonic astonishes the entire planet! Catch it all on Sonic X, Mars; the new world! Don't miss it!


	25. Episode 13

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!

Episode 13: Mars the New World

* * *

The fourth planet in the solar system was the wasteland, Mars. Barren and desolate, the planet had an atmosphere no creature from Earth could survive in, a harmful dose of carbon dioxide that the oxygen dependant people of earth could never use. Giant sheets of ice ran across it's poles, proving that the planet had once been hot enough for water for exist in it's liquid form. It's surface was scared with the evidence as well, the deep remain of ancient river beds that had dried up when the ice at the poles drew all the present water into itself. 

The Behemoth, the giant battleship of the Metal X Machine Federation floated in orbit around the Red Planet. From here, Metal Sonic had conducted experiments on the soil extracted by the probes. From his results, it showed that microscopic life had existed on the planet a couple of million years ago, preserved almost perfectly in the rocks. How fortunate, to have a planet so close to home so perfect for their needs. This would prove very advantageous. On more than one front.

For some time now, Metal Sonic had been looking for an excuse to test the full capabilities of the alien technology he had liberated from Doctor Eggman. So far, all he had used it for was augmenting the physical strength of his armies. Nothing all that spectacular, that was all that Eggman had been using it for and Metal Sonic wanted to do something far more ambitious.

In the Behemoth's science labs, standing before a large holographic display of the barren planet, Metal Sonic studied the diagram carefully as it changed, adding into it levels of water, foliage and even rain forest. A wasteland turning nearly instantly into a paradise. After running the last few simulations, the leader of Metal X was how assured that the plan was sound. Orbiting around the empty world at a lower altitude than the Behemoth was a web of satellites; all awaiting his command to start their objective. It would take a few hours for the process to finish, but when it was over, Metal X would have all the energy it would require for it's experiment.

Metal Sonic had considered using the Earth for his purposes, but that world was too spoiled. The humans who had previously ruled unchallenged over it had left it in a terrible state. Pollution, waste, land development, oil spill, all this ruined the flow of natural energy.

_"Seeding is ready to begin my Lord."_ Dark Oak, strongest of his Generals began, his metallic faceappearing in a holographic display nearby._ "Energy collectors are standing by, the labs are waiting."_ Metal Sonic turned to give his most trusted General a glance over his shoulder._"_

_"Then begin the operation."_ Dark oak bowed with a sweep on his hand, lowering his head face in respect.

_"At once my lord."_ With that he disappeared. Barley a moment later the diagrams had showed the positions of the satellites began to change, showing their new positions as the operation got underway. First the net began to tighten around the barren planet as the satellites moved into their final places, resting just beyond the stratosphere.

If an observer had been watching from outside the ship, he would have seen a thin shield of purple energy slowly spreading around the entire planet, changing it's colour from red to a deep violet. Blue lightning began lancing from satellite to satellite like the inside of a thundercloud only on a much grander scale. From the Behemoth, Metal Sonic watched almost in awe as the incredible technology undertook it's task.

Inside that shield, all the carbon dioxide in Mar's atmosphere was being converted almost instantly into oxygen. Such a fast reaction was needed or Mar's natural supply of gasses would simply shrug off the attempt at atmospheric change.

According to the probes results, the exact conditions were being generated on the planet below. Within two minutes, Mars' atmosphere was now a near copy of Earth's. Once this process had been completed and stabilised, the satellites finished the job and the purple shielded dissipated into nothing; the blue lightning bussed for a moment before vanishing completely.

From here, Metal Sonic could actually see the difference. The planet was now far less red. Now it appeared a pale brown. The compounds that gave it the blood red façade were now gone, leaving the air around it clear and breathable. Not that any of his units needed to breath, but for his plans such an environment was necessary.

_"Phase one successful my lord."_ Dark Oak added, his holographic image reappearing beside his master.

_"Perfect."_ The ancient technology had worked beautifully and to specification. If Metal Sonic was honest with himself, he would admit he held out reservations about if the magnitude of this task could actually be completed. Apparently he should have had more faith in this miraculous hardware.

_"Phase two ready to begin."_

_"Then begin."_

_

* * *

_

The starlight wasn't particularly bright tonight and the darkness of the earth magnified ten-fold by the weakening of the moonlight. What lit up the night sky tonight was the ring that now encircled the Earth, the fragments that the Eclipse Cannon had blown off shone like the blinking lights of a city above.

Tikal lay on he back staring up at it. She'd never seen such a beautiful phenomenon before. It was like a belt of stars slowly sliding across the sky. The female Echidna sighed and put her arms behind her head. Like a puppy, she'd followed Shadow across the wilderness before he finally stopped on a side of a cliff overlooking a canyon. She suspected he'd stopped not for his sake but rather for hers.

He sat not to far away at the base of a tree trunk, nimbly tossing and catching his Yellow Chaos Emerald in one hand, his head leaning on the other. He'd been travelling all day and hadn't shown very many signs of fatigue, although in his dark red eyes she could see the pull of a strange tiredness.

"Don't you ever sleep?" She asked, looking back at him while upside down. The black and red hedgehog twitched and turned to look at her, before sighing.

"Not very often." He replied, although she could tell just by looking at him he was tired. The Chaos Emerald could sustain him for longer then he could by himself, but as he yawned she knew he was in need of sleep.

Sitting up, Tikal hugged her knees closer to herself.

"Shadow, exactly how old are you?" She asked over her shoulder. The hedgehog didn't bother to look up.

"68." That was the exact number of years since his creation, although admittedly he'd spent most of that time suspended animation. Tikal smiled smugly at him, pressing the end of her thumb against her shoulder.

"Well over two thousand." Surpassingly, he smiled back.

"You don't look a day over five hundred." Was that a joke? From Shadow the Hedgehog? 'The' Shadow the Hedgehog? Tikal's grin widened with an almost sadistic twist to it. Perhaps she was making more progress than she herself thought. "Why the sudden interest in age?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Just curious." She replied. While hardly a burden, Tikal was proving to be an interesting puzzle for Shadow. She followed him when she had no need to, she insisted on being his companion when she was already perfectly aware that he liked to travel alone and she seemed unimpressed by any attempt he made to be menacing. As far as she was concerned, the only shadowy thing about him was his name. Still, he would be lying if he said her companionship wasn't friendly. She kept conversations frequent and engaging, even when he didn't want to. Any topic she brought up always seemed to draw him in by some strange means that he did not understand. He knew she had some other motive for tagging along, but since he could feel it wasn't sinister in nature he let it go unexplained.

Even as he sat thinking, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier and by the time he realised he was half-asleep he had his eyes closed. Forcing one of the open he saw that time had slipped past for about an hour and Tikal was sitting next to him leaning back against the tree. She'd taken the yellow Chaos Emerald off him and was studying the jewel, turning it over in her hands. Surprisingly, she wasn't asleep yet and didn't look like she was going to nod off any time soon either. "You need more sleep than that." She said without looking up. "Go on, take a nap; no one's around here to think you're week." Pride was telling him not to. Sleep was for lesser creatures, surely not a burden for the ultimate life-form. It actually occurred to him how unbearably arrogant he was being. Perhaps it was Tikal's influence, but he found himself actually embarrassed by his own attitude.

Just as he was drifting off, she elbowed him in the ribs forcing him awake. What the matter was, was already quite clear. In the sky, a new star had appeared. A red star, it's light burning twice as brightly at the other stars. For an instant, the star pulsated blood red before changing to a deep purple. With one final blast, the star seemed to explode expanding across the entire sky before everything returned to normal.

Shadow forged a frown and stood up.

"What was that?" Tikal asked looking stunned.

"Trouble." Shadow replied flatly.

* * *

- 

Cosmo woke up with in a cold sweat, her eyes wide. She was breathing hard and her pulse racing. It took a moment, but she managed to calm herself. She found herself still at Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins, in one of the bedrooms upstairs. A shaft of sunlight was gently flittering though into the room, falling just short of the bed. After a second, she remembered what she was doing here and then her dream itself, the disturbing image that had forced her awake.

She saw a world, this Earth and the planet next to it. One was overridden with abundant life, the other barren and empty. Suddenly, that barren world had blossomed and the two planets looked almost identical. Just as this beautiful sight reached its peak, a metal parasite began feeding off the life of this new world; devouring all in it's path. As it ate, it grew stronger and stronger and once it had sufficient strength, it invaded the second and then both planets were reduced to lifeless husks.

Being new to this dimension, Cosmo did not know what this new vision meant; only that it would be important. She had to tell Sonic about it. Throwing off the covers, she ran downstairs to the main living area of Tails' workshop. Knuckles was asleep on the sofa next to the large screen TV. A small blanket draped over him, not large enough to cover his feet. His shoes sat on the floor and his gloves on table between the sofa and the TV. He was snoring loudly.

The loud whirring of equipment working was coming from the doorway heading down into the underground workshop. Tails was nowhere in sight, so Cosmo assumed he was down below working on another of his inventions. She couldn't see Eggman or his two robots either.

"You're up early." A voice stated when she got downstairs. Turning, Cosmo saw Amy sitting in the kitchen area enjoying some toast.

"Sonic…is not here?" Cosmo asked, looking concerned. Amy took a bite of her toast and shook her head.

"No, he went out for a run." The small girl from Maginaryworld suddenly looked confused.

"I do not understand." She confessed. "Your planet is in peril, yet he finds time to run?" The pink hedgehog smiled.

"It's what he does." Cosmo's expression warranted further explanation. "I guess you just have to know him." The green haired girl sat down next to her and Amy offered a piece of toast. It took a moment for her to realise it was food.

"Do you know where he has gone?" She asked after finishing half of it. Amy leaned back in her chair.

"Sonic's never in one place for more than a minute; that's how I met him." The pink hedgehog remained silent for a moment, remembering that time like it was yesterday. It had been when Earth and Mobius were two separate worlds. Eggman had only just started out to conquer the world and rumours of a lightning fast blue hero fighting his robots off were spreading like wild fire. Amy had never paid too much attention to the gossip. That is until she was corned by three of the Eggman's Dreadnaughts. She managed to fight one of them off with her old Piko hammer. She would have been taken prisoner, had Sonic not been flying overhead with Tails and jumped in at the last minute.

Ever since then she'd followed Sonic and in time had been introduced to all their friends. In a strange way, that was the day her life really began.

"I had another vision." Cosmo began, gaining Amy's attention. Quickly she conveyed her strange dream and how it had left her feeling rather shaky. Then again, all her visions did that.

"I hope you're not asking me what it means." Amy started with a nervous grin. Cosmo just sighed, leaning on the table.

"I don't know what it could be predicting, I just know it's important." Knuckles yawned loudly, stretched until something snapped. Wiping away the salvia from the side of his mouth the Echidna sat up, the light coming in from the half closed window stinging his eyes. It took him a minute to remember exactly what he was doing away from the Emerald shrine but when it all came flooding back he groaned falling back into the seat.

He still didn't know exactly why the Emerald insisted that he abandon it to help Sonic and the others. As guardian, his only duty was to safeguard the Master Emerald.

Whatever it expected to happen had to be serious for it to get him involved. The Emerald was not easily moved by the plights of others. Still, he was it's guardian and subordinate to it. Whatever it said, went.

A loud hissing came up from the floor and the lift to the workshop below rose through a concealed trap door near the stairs that lead up. Tails emerged, his fur covered in a great deal of oil. Apart from the a space around his eyes which his goggles had shielded, his face was blackened. He coughed several times into his glove, before dusting himself off.

"Mondays…" He muttered to himself, sitting down on the sofa. Knuckles repressed the urge to comment and to laugh when Tails pushed his goggles up to his forehead, leaving two blank spaces around his eyes. Flipping the TV on, the fox sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"How are the repairs on the Icarus coming along?" Amy asked coyly from the kitchen.

"Their not." Tails replied sourly, wiping some of the oil off his chest fur. "It'd be easier to build a whole new ship from scratch. Chuck is going to kill me." Knuckles rolled his eyes, remembering the nightmare fall from space trapped inside the space ship Icarus. Frankly, he'd be glad to see the back of the thing.

"A recap of our top story today." The reporter on CNN began, the words: EMERGENCY BROADCAST slowly sliding across the screen. The caption screen at the side showed a picture of the planet Mars, or at least that's what the subtitling said. The planet being showed didn't look anything like Mars. It was blue and green, an almost exact copy of Earth but the landmasses were all different. "Astronomers, scientists and Government officials are at a loss to explain the sudden and startling transformation of the planet Mars." Tails shot forward in his chair, staring in wonder. "Reports are conflicting, but it appears that the Red planet now had a breathable atmosphere and lush vegetation; an amazing overnight transmutation. Many have taken to the streets." The reporter turned to a human in a grey suit with a red tie and a pair of old wire rim spectacles. "Professor Hawk, can you sum up what you expect is happening?"

"Er…yes." The old man began. "What has happened to Mars is a process called Terraformation. For several years, scientific groups have been labouring with the idea of turning Mars; the closet planet to us, into an inhabitable place. It seems someone has had the same idea."

"This just in, the White House has just made a statement." The presenter started, holding a hand to his ear microphone. "They are advising people to stay in their homes until official assessments of the situation and the possible danger to security can be evaluated."

"This some joke?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyebrow in scepticism. It certainly didn't look like a joke. It wasn't April first anymore so a bit late for an April fools joke.

Cosmo looked up at the report and staggered back instant, recoiling in surprise. That planet on TV, it was the same one from her vision.

* * *

- 

Those lucky enough to look out their car windows in that exact spilt second would have caught a glimpse of the blue hedgehog as he shot past, darting through the on coming traffic too fast for any of the drivers to see him.

Running up the side of a truck, Sonic paused just long enough on it's top to get his bearings before flying off again. If he was perfectly honest, he would admit that he had no clear destination in mind. His head was clouded with thoughts and to clear himself he did the only thing that calmed him down; he ran.

The humans were unused to rapid change so the world's present situation disturbed them greatly. Many of them were heading into the countryside to wait out the period of conflict. It was they'd done during previous wars so Sonic supposed it made sense to them. Personally, he just saw that as running away.

Eventually he slowed down and came to a stop in the middle of a traffic clogged city on the coast, a steady stream of cars and trucks heading out along the highway. Once Station Square had been made an example of, the general public was beginning to think no city was safe. Sonic sighed and folded his arms.

There were still so many unanswered questions. Like who had reprogrammed Metal Sonic to be a bad guy again? It wasn't Eggman, otherwise why would he be helping them? If not him, then who else could have? An old enemy? Or a new one throwing itself into the mix? As if this situation wasn't complicated enough.

The city was all but deserted as he strode in. The only people left were either police assisting with the evacuation or closing up shop, the rest of the populations were clad inside the traffic jam a mile long.

Wandering around, Sonic eventually found a place were people looked like they intended to stay for at least a few more hours. Perhaps in defiance of a popular intent to flee, they looked as busy as they could trying to maintain a relatively normal life style. Sonic found there was some logic in that and he forged a smile at his own revelation. No amount of sulking was going to change a situation, even if you didn't like it. Life was never fair, that was what made it life.

No matter who the enemy was, Sonic would have to give it his all. Metal Sonic was a very strong opponent, as skilled if not more than himself. He could afford no distractions of hesitation in a fight.

_"It took you long enough to get here."_ Stated a voice. Sonic shot around in a fighting stance, just before a torrent of fire came lancing out of nowhere. Hitting the dirt, Sonic only managed to get the ends of each quill scorched. The flames continued past him before colliding into the side of a petrol tanker, the explosion tearing open the ground and throwing the blue hedgehog across the street and into a lamppost, knocking it over. People began running and screaming, putting themselves a save distance from the destruction.

Looking up, Sonic watched as a large lumbering form marched out of the ensuing fires gathering around. He frowned, forcing his way to his feet as he recognised Theta, one of Doctor Eggman's elite robots. The Eggman Empire symbol on his left hand side had been removed, replaced by a new emblem; an armoured fist of metal. The icon of Metal X.

"Playing for another team?"

_"A transfer. I fight for the Machine Federation now." _The robot raised both barrels and fire shot through the air. Sonic slide to the side avoiding a scorching before somersaulting forwards and smashing a flying kick straight into Theta's chest plate. The robot kept his ground and battered Sonic away like a bug before stamping forward, nearly flattening the hedgehog underneath his large foot.

The blue hedgehog was on his feet in an instant, his body spinning around with a tight vortex, smashing itself at top speed straight into the robot's waiting arms. Theta took hold of the attack and dug his heals into the road, the sheer force of the spin forcing him backwards. Eventually Sonic ran out of momentum and leapt back out of harms way.

Fire lanced through the air again and Sonic had to leap into the air to avoid it. Rebounding off the side of walk, the bleu hedgehog came rocketing back with a punch knocking Theta backwards. Sonic didn't stop there, he landed another punch an another and another before finally somersaulting up and smashing one final kick.

Theta toppled backwards before crashing to the ground and there he stayed, motionless. Sonic paused to gather his wits, before slowly approaching.

Theta had put up better fights than that before. There was no way it had been that easy. His paranoia paying off, Sonic tried to avoid a punch as Theta mimicked Emerl's favourite attack and launched a metal fist straight through the air at him. He failed and took the whole brunt of it and was sent flying straight into the side of a truck.

"Hardware update?" Sonic asked, the left side of his face going numb.

_"A gift from General Leviathan."_ A second hand shot out and grabbed Sonic by the throat, tugging him violently across the sidewalk before slamming his back into the road; keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Can't we discus this like human beings?" Sonic managed to gasp as the metallic hand kept him pinned, Theta towering over him; slowly raising a large flat foot.

_"Nice try hedgehog."_ The robot said with a fair amount of disgust in his voice before slamming his foot down. Sonic wrenched himself free of the fist and rolled to the side before swinging up with a kick. The robot grabbed his foot and attempted to toss him over his shoulder, but at the last second Sonic grabbed his head and took Theta with them somersaulting straight into the side of a wall, straight through it and tumbling into a thick pile of brick dust.

* * *

Flip card 1: 

Name: Theta

Description: Created by Doctor Eggman as part of his elite, E1004: Theta now fights for the Metal X Machine Federation.


	26. Episode 13, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc)

Flip card 2:

Name: Sam Speed

Description: The Leader of S-Team and Chris' Uncle.

* * *

Sliding through pillars of fire, Sonic landed a punch against Theta's chest plate, before ducking under a swing from the robots second pair of limbs. In a crouching position, Sonic tensing his legs before somersaulting upwards smashing a kick into the robot's chin, forcing him to stagger backwards. Whipping around at the last second, Sonic managed to land another two punches before backing off to a safe distance to avoid a swing. 

Theta raised both barrels and opened fire, flames instantly coursing through the air. With the flames burning the ends of his quills, the blue hedgehog shot forward with a spin attack. Theta side stepped avoiding the blow, using his extra set of arms to catch Sonic as he passed by. Using the already sufficient momentum, the robot tossed the blue hedgehog over his shoulder and into the side of the road.

This was what Sonic had been waiting for. The instant he was an inch from the ground, the blue hedgehog used his hands to rebound off the road and come flying straight back at the robots head.

Theta ducked to avoid the flying kick and while Sonic was still in the air, turned and fired his flame throwers directly at him. Sonic twisted in mid air to avoid the deadly torrents of fire before coming down in a fighting stance.

There was silence as the two opponents turned to face each other, before Theta got the ball rolling by charging forward with fire already blasting out of both barrels. Sonic ducked underneath them, before rocketing toward himself, holding a fist back ready to swing. Throwing the robot off guard, he changed tactics at the last second and shot around his back using his speed. Then as Theta tried to turn, Sonic cupped his hands and fired a Sonic Wind straight into his body. The sheer vortex of energy at point black range tore through a good deal of the robots armour and with a loud ripping sound, an arm went with it. Theta was thrown backwards, his wound sparking with electricity as his dismembered limb fell to the ground smouldering.

That did little to deter Theta however. He simply raised his remaining arm and fired another dose of fire.

"Gee, take about a die hard." Sonic muttered to himself, darting to the left and up and the side of a building. Leaping off just before he reached the roof, spiralling in mid air. Spinning high above, Sonic came down as hard as he could against the robot, who used his remaining limbs to grab Sonic's attack and tossed him head first directly into the sidewalk.

Before the blue hedgehog could pull himself up, Theta placed his large metal foot on his back pinning him there. Sonic tried to struggle out from under it, but the weight kept him stuck fast.

Theta raised the barrel of his flame thrower ready to burn Sonic to a cinder, but just before he could blast, a red formula one car came screeching out of nowhere and smashed head first into the android sending the battle robot flying over the road before crashing through several cars and into a street lamp.

Sonic looked up to see the car of one of his old rivals, the one he had raced against when he first arrived on Earth, Sam Speed. The leader of S-Team gave him a thumbs up through the windscreen.

"Hey, long time no see." The human began with a grin, Sonic smiled back, before turning in a fighting stance towards Theta who was slowly beginning to pull himself out of the rubble. Sam let himself out of his car and reached for his gun, holding it heady as the one armed robot readied itself for another attack.

Fire poured out of it's remaining flame thrower as the robot staggered forward, limply on a crippled leg it had suffered when Sam crashed his car straight into it. Dancing through the fire with ease, Sonic came rocketing forward before smashing one final flying kick directly into Theta's torso, tearing off most of his chest plate in the process. Still functioning, the robot turned ready to fire as Sonic landed back on the ground with his back to him. Before it could, a yellow bolt of energy tore through the air before clashing into the robots back, ripping a hole straight through him.

Theta staggered forwards, parts of him falling off towards the ground before the chaos drive powering his systems finally reached critical mass and his body began to cave inwards. Cracks ran all over his armour, beams of light lancing out of the smallest holes, before the small reactor blew and the robot exploded in a spectacular light show, his body breaking up and scattering in all directions. The air rippled outwards, sparks of lightning dancing across the road before everything died down and the only traces left of Theta were a few blackened fragments scattered across the road.

Sonic looked up as Shadow dropped down from the roof of a building, Tikal wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"You are definitely getting soft." The black and red hedgehog muttered, tossing Sonic an object in his hand. The blue hedgehog caught it, then realized he was holding the yellow Chaos Emerald. "How many to do have?" Shadow asked.

"This'll make three." Sonic replied, nimbly tossing the Emerald into the air and catching it again. Shadow groaned and shook his head.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to stop Metal Sonic."

* * *

- 

The Lord of Metal X was perfectly aware that Leviathan had sent Theta as an assassin to kill Sonic, hoping to avenge himself for his defeat in Barcelona. Normally, Metal Sonic would destroy anyone who violated his order that Sonic was his pray and Leviathan was already pushing his luck; but he decided to let it slide this once. His General had done him an unwilling, or perhaps unwitting favour. Even with Mars transforming before their eyes, it would have been unlikely Sonic and the others would come into Space after them. Now, with the attack giving the incentive needed; Metal Sonic's plan to obtain what he needed would get underway.

By now, Mars' transformation was almost complete. By warming up the planets surface, the Machine Federation had caused it's gigantic polar ice capes to melt; allowing a good degree of water to rise up in the forms of oceans, seas and lakes. The land masses that remained were quickly being seeded with lush forests, most of which were transforming into swamp land before they could do anything about it. But that really didn't matter, as the multitudes of animals Equinox had gathered from Earth were thriving in this new ecosystem. Providing the cycle of life they required.

Their labs were already registering a power outage and very shortly it would reach the degree needed to begin the experiments.

If, as Equinox claimed, The Machine Federation could succeed where Eggman had failed; then virtually unlimited power could be theirs, Metal Sonic however had more than sufficient doubts, which was why he'd conquered up a back up plan.

If things went the way he'd anticipated, the remaining four Chaos Emeralds would be handed right to him.

* * *

-

"Ok, this is officially getting weird." Sonic remarked, after being informed of the strange occurrence with the planet Mars. By now, most of the telescopes on Earth were pointed in the red planet's direction and everyone could see that it was no longer red, but a bright blue like their own planet. All reports told the same story, the fourth planet of the solar system had been transformed into a living world. The only questions remained to be answered where by who and why. Along with Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Chuck, Chris, Cosmo and Tikal had gathered in the workshop in the Mystic Ruins. Shadow was about as well, but at present was nowhere to be seen.

"The President nearly had a nervous breakdown." Okida explained, finally getting around to talking to Sonic and the others after the nightmare load of work the Division was undertaking since this morning. "He's got over sixty five billion people asking what the hell is going on with Mars and he doesn't have an answer."

"But who would want to do such a thing?" Amy asked.

"Take a look at this." Okida told them, handing them a printed photo. This had been taken with a Government owned long range telescope. It showed the planet Mars as it had been that morning. Along with it's two moons, a third object was in orbit; the battleship of the Machine Federation; The Behemoth. Sonic suddenly looked confused. Why would Metal Sonic turned Mars into an inhabitable world? That didn't make any sense. His agenda was to collect the Chaos Emeralds to power ancient machines and take over the world. This move was no strategic value whatsoever, the robotic hedgehog had to be up to something else.

"Nothing for it now." Amy sighed. "We've got to go after him."

"And get the three Emeralds that he has back!" Sonic added. Eventually Chuck got handed the photograph.

"Looks like the work of more of that alien technology." His grand son sot him a confused glance.

"Aliens grandpa?" He asked with scepticism.

"If it wasn't for the fact the enemy's using it, most of what we have would be safely locked away in Area 51." Okida announced. "As it is, what we've been able to gather is being used in tactical operations against Metal X."

"Look, we need the Icarus up and running." Sonic put in, walking over to the small trap door that observed the lift that led down into the main workshop from view. A large button built into the wall. Sonic simply slammed his hand down on it, a small slot above it opening up and an intercom device protruding outwards. After a bussing of static someone answered.

"Is this important?" Tails asked on the other side.

"Look bud, is the Icarus ready to go or not?" Tails didn't answer, instead his voice simply disappeared for a while. Then a second later, a loud humming filled the room as the trap door opened up and the small lift emerged from the shaft. Tails was inside, his fur almost drenched in oil. Sonic staggered back at the overpowering smell, clutching his nose.

"I haven't installed shower down there yet." The fox replied flatly, whipping what he could from his face.

"I'm sure he's working as hard as he can Sonic." Cosmo tried to assure the blue hedgehog. Tails grinned and put both hands behind his head.

"Thanks. But as it happens, I do have something to show the rest of you." Everyone shot each other questioning glances as the fox beckoned them into the lift. The lift had only been designed for a few people and it was quite a fit but eventually they all managed to get inside and Tails flipped a switch. The metal gate closed behind them as the lift began to descend down the shaft.

Sonic looked around confused when he noticed that the lift had passed the level that opened up onto Tails' usual laboratory, heading down even further towards sea level.

"You managed to fix the Icarus?" Okida asked, looking a little cramped in the small lift.

Tails chuckled to himself.

"No, I went one better." Sonic and the others shot each other nervous glances as the lift came to a stop and the fox opened the doors to a second underground chamber.

"Holy mother of!" Okida exclaimed, backing away in utter surprise at the sight that greeted them. The young fox forged a smug grin

"Let me introduce, the Blue Typhoon." Tails' latest project was beyond all their expectation. Way, way, way beyond. This ship was like a new and improved version of the Egg Carrier, at least as long and with a wing span to match. While most of Eggman's creations were either a steal grey or blood red, this ship was a snow white apart from around a double set of engines towards the back which were ringed either gold or blue. It was impossible for them to see all of the ship from this vantage point, but they all managed to see the twin tail insignia that all of the fox's inventions had printed on them.

"You'd better be impressed." A voice stated and they looked up as Doctor Eggman came floated down in one of his hovering machines. His two hence bots where in similar constructions doing work on the curved hull that didn't even reach it's peak above them. "I was up all night trying to get the engines even marginally operational." They were all left staring open mouthed at the giant as Tails flipped on several light switches and the entire body was revealed.

The Blue Typhoon looked like it had been modelled out of the remains of the Egg Carrier itself, along with addon's from Eggman's previous flying fortress'. The front which was over five hundred meters long itself was cone shaped with two landing stripes for smaller aircraft on the top. Another long set of wings lanced out either side, a small cone like engine on the tip of each one. The mid section was thinner than the rest of the ship, connecting with the large larger end which houses the impossible tall engines. Sonic gave an impressed whistle as Tails escorted them through the ship on a tour. It was a sprawling mass of metallic corridors and chambers. The engine room was a gigantic room with a high ceiling, housing several large turbines that at the moment stood silent, with thick metal cables leading to a central energy chamber.

Several hangers were already occupied with smaller ships, including a repaired Icarus; the X-tornado along with other variants of Tails' oldest plane the Cyclone. Everything was controlled from the bridge, a large chamber near the top of a triangular tower that sloped out from the mid section towards the back. The bridge looked more like a large cockpit, with several stations manning navigation; weapons; system optics and engines. A long series of terminals in front of a thick glass screen stood ready to project holographic displays. The main system was operated by a set of keypads on moveable controls near the top of the room.

"How did you build all this so fast?" Chuck asked in awe. Everyone looked in Eggman's direction, who was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. When he noticed them all fixing him with a stare, he grumbled and reached into his jacket; withdrawing a small glass canister. Inside which was a buzzing grey gas.

"Nano bots." Eggman explained. "Just another of the beneficial technologies I took from the ruins." Something clicked in Sonic's mind and a revelation was made clear. That was now Metal Sonic had repaired his arm when they battled on the Icarus. These microscopic roots were already active in his body and when his metal limb was ripped off, they rushed to the scene rebuilding it molecule by molecule.

"They're certainly helpful in engineering." Tails added. "If a bit unstable."

"The Typhoon' is superior to my Egg Carrier in everyway." Eggman began, but with more than a hint of reluctance in his voice to admit it. "Faster, more heavily armed, better defensive capabilities." He forced a grin. "More than a match for Metal Sonic's Behemoth."

"All it needs to go are two things." Tails continued. "One a crew, and two a power source." Chuck suddenly looked puzzled.

"What sort of power source?"

"Well like all the technology from the ruins, it runs on Chaos Energy."

"We do have three Chaos Emeralds." Eggman shook his head in disagreement.

"Not enough to power all the systems."

"What would you suggest we could use?"

"Well, there is something I had in mind." Tails added, looking back at Knuckles slyly. The Red Echidna looked up in surprise when he noticed everyone was suddenly staring at him.

"What?" Then it hit him. "Oh no, no no no no!" He was instantly on his feet.

"Come on Knuckles, the Master Emerald is the only energy source capable of powering the Blue Tornado." Tails explained, but the red Echidna just exploded anyway.

"NOT A CHANCE!" Knuckles exploded, smashing a fist almost absently into the side of a wall, anger more than plain on his face. "The Master Emerald's been safe on Angel Island for centuries, and that is where it's staying!" Knuckles was completely uncompromising on that issue. He refused to put the Master Emerald in a position were it might come into jeopardy, and heading into space to combat Metal Sonic and his Metal X Machine Federation was about the most hazardous situation he could think of. Anyone who so much as tried to change his mind was going the right way for a fist in the mouth as far as he was concerned.

"We don't have time for this." A voice stated and Shadow stepped out of a instant flash of green; the Chaos control warp closing almost at once behind him. "If it's the Master Emerald we need, then it's the Master Emerald we get."

"You'll have to go through me first!" The red Echidna stated, throwing him in Shadow's path with both fists raised.

"Woah, back it up!" Sonic exclaimed, standing between the two of them as Shadow gathered a small Chaos Spear attack between his fingers. "Ok Knuckles; look. The Master Emerald wants you to help us right? But you don't want to leave it alone right?" The red Echidna gave him a sideways glance. "It's the perfect deal dude." Sonic added, but even he could see he wasn't reaching the Echidna. The blue hedgehog diced to try a different approach. "Besides; who's more qualified to guard the Emerald than you on the trip?" Knuckles was not easily flattered and he wasn't as egocentric as Sonic or Shadow, but when it came to his guardianship of the Master Emerald; he could be as stubborn and smug as the rest of them.

Getting him to even consider it was the easy part, getting the Master Emerald back proved to be ultimately more difficult. Angel Island, kept aloft by the Emerald's power would plummet to the ground if it was removed.

After a brief conversation with the Emerald itself, Angel Island lowered itself into the ocean and settled comfortably on the sediment below the waves; resting quietly against the coastline. Okida assured the Echidna that while they were gone, G.U.N would monitor the Island to make sure no one tried to building a housing estate or something on it while they were gone.

The main energy chamber of a Typhoon seemed to have been built with the Master Emerald in mind. It was a round room with sever smooth metallic pillars lancing from the walls directly towards the middle; three of them had the Chaos Emeralds placed on top of them; the yellow one, the purple one and the light blue one. Directly in the centre was a metal version of the Emerald shrine, similar to the construction at the heart of the Space Colony ARK. Eggman had tried to copy the design because it helped unleash the Chaos energy trapped inside each jewel.

Knuckles liked the layout, it reminded him of his home and thought that perhaps this made going with them for another joy ride beyond the atmosphere ever so slightly more bearable.

"Freelance Division's coming with you." Okida stated as the loading of supplies and other essentials got underway, Tails looked like he was about to argue. "We can do more good helping you than we can if we stay here." The vampire bat added quickly. Then he forged a grin. "Besides, we're under Presidential orders."

"Ok," Chuck began, looking over a clip board with several papers attached to it. "Most of the ship is automated, so according to this report we just need a crew of twenty." He paused and looked up towards the large ship, the final finishing touches being added by Becoe and Decoe. "Still seems a small number for such a large vessel."

Tails looked stunned when a large Military carrier turned up outside his Workshop, with Bean and Bark at the steering wheel. Onboard were three of G.U.N's best Mechs. A Yahger, a Turtle and a Raptor; all standard Freelance Division weaponry. Luckily there was enough room in the hangers for them and all the spare ammunition that came with it.

"Do we really need all that?" Sonic asked as he and Amy watched Okida march them one by one onboard the Typhoon, the ground shaking underneath each footstep. Chuck was still busy counting up the crew when the two Hedgehogs came to see how he was going. So far he'd enlisted all of Freelance Division: Major Okida, Topaz, Rouge, Bean, Bark, Hare and Omega. On top of that there was Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Tikal, Cosmo, Eggman and his two robots. That came to seventeen, leaving three more places.

"I'll take one of those." A voice stated. Chuck looked back over his shoulder as the lift from the upstairs workshop. Stepping off the elevator was Chris' uncle, the renowned Sam Speed, clad in his full red S-Team uniform; a wide smirk on his face. Under his arm he was carrying his helmet.

"Think you can keep up with us?" Sonic asked coyly. "We're a lot faster then before." Sam flicked the side of his nose with his thumb.

"So am I." He replied with a smirk. Shadow, who'd been listening from the rafters sighed and leapt down to the floor below.

"You'd just be in the way." He told the human. "We're in a different league altogether."

"Now what have I told you about arrogance?" Tikal asked with a coy grin, running her heads through Shadow's quills messing them up.

"Two places left then." Chuck added almost absently, adding Sam's name to the list.

"Make that one." Chris stated very determined. Everyone looked his way. "I'm going to." Chuck didn't argue. He knew it was utterly pointless to try and talk him out of it. He'd been on enough of Sonic's other adventures to know the drill. In this situation, there was only one sensible thing he could do. Sighing, he wrote both Chris' and his own name on the list filling out the last two places. Lydsey and Nelson would probably have a fit but they'd just have to live with it.

"Why can't I go?" Cream asked looking cross. After she'd snuck onboard the Icarus the last time, they were all keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't pull another trick. Emerl was keeping her company for Vanilla, who'd nearly had a heart attack when she discovered her daughter had been inside a falling space ship. Of course, once she'd heard that they were about to head into space again; Cream had tried repeatedly to get onboard.

"'Cause we need you to do something just as important." Sonic told her, handing the small rabbit girl one of Chuck's Chaos Emerald locator devices. "We have three Emeralds, Metal Sonic has the same; so that leaves one more out there to find." Cream stared at the watch like machine in her hand. "We'll need you to find that last Emerald before Metal X does." The rabbit girl was silent for a moment, before looking up.

"You think I can do it?" The blue hedgehog smiled and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sure, you hunt down that last one and we'll be back with the other six." Cream grinned and strapped the machine to her wrist.

"I could have picked up that Emerald this afternoon." Shadow remarked as he watched Cream examine her new toy.

"I know." Sonic replied flatly. "But this way she won't be tempted to hide inside one of the cargo decks."

Soon, Tails' battleship was ready to move out. The thought of phoning his Parents briefly to let them know where he'd be passed through Chris' mind but he quickly dismissed it and sent a text message instead, when he knew his dad would have his phone turned off. That way, he wouldn't get the message telling him stay put until it was too late.

"Keep an eye on him." Okida whispered to Bean, Bark and Hare as Doctor Eggman ran over a last few system checks on the bridge. "He'll try to betray us at the earliest opportunity and let's not forget we have three Chaos Emeralds on board." Amy's hero Chao Turel would not be left behind and was orbiting around her like a moon. Cheese tried several times to accompany it onboard the Blue Typhoon but wouldn't leave Cream either.

With a loud groaning, a gigantic set of shutter doors at the front of the workshop slide to open side revealing a short runway leading around towards the bay between the Mystic Ruins and Station Square, two long lines of pine trees leaning to one side as the runway itself began to lengthen. Tails took up his position at the helm, taking hold of the controls with both hands. Sonic, whose gaze had been fixed on the horizon noticed Cosmo watched her new environment with a look of confusion on her face. This was all too different from her home dimension to be comfortable with. The blue hedgehog could tell that she was trying, but the anxiousness was plain in her blue eyes. It wasn't just that he seen either. Tails thought no one had noticed, but Sonic recognised that longing look in his eyes when he looked at green haired girl. Sonic had seen Amy staring at himself like that more than once.

"All systems register green." Eggman announced, taking up a seat towards the front of the controls; his two robots on either side. "Ready for launch procedures." Tails, who realized he'd been staring at Cosmo for a little too long snapped back into reality.

"Right…beginning energising sequence." He began, running his fingers over the keypad on the right hand side control. The engines at the back of the Blue Typhoon began to hum as energy was siphoned away from the energy chamber. Knuckles watched the Master Emerald as it sat in place, it's glow steadily increasing. He wondered if the Emerald's decision had been made in haste. He intensely disliked seeing it any other place than Angel Island, but since the Emerald had told him it approved he could not argue. The glow from the three Chaos Emeralds around it began to pulsate as the cables and wired leading away began to wiggle like a multitude of worms and energy began lancing down them.

At the back of the ship, the cone like back of the engines was highlighted bright gold and slowly the colossal giant began to move forward; lifting off the ground.

"Hey Froggy! There you are." Big said happily, picking his amphibian friend up off the floor. His friend had wandered off again and ended up down in some underground bunker. Following his friend inside, Big had finally caught up with him in a large metal room full of steal crates. "There you go, next time let me know where you're going."

"Rippit." Froggy replied as Big placed him on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home." The cat meowed, just before the ground began to shake beneath their feet. With a loud audible slamming sound, the door through which they'd entered closed leaving the two of them trapped in there.

"What am I doing!" Hare suddenly asked him out load as the Blue Typhoon positioned itself for lift off. "I don't want to go to Mars! Let's me off this thing!" But by now of course it was too late. One in position, the ship paused as the glow at it's back began intensify before a single blast sent it rocketed forward with speed that shocked even Sonic. Okida, who had not anticipated such an intense take off was thrown off his feet and onto the floor. With a sonic doom that shook whatever windows were left in Station Square, the Blue Typhoon emerged into the world, souring to tremendous heights in seconds, the atmosphere glowing bright orange around them as they soured higher and higher.

Punching a hole through the stratosphere, the ship finally emerged into space as the violent shaking that beset the ship during takeoff finally died down. Before anything could start floating away, Tails engaged the artificial gravity so their feet remained attached to the floor.

"Woah, what a ride." Sam began, clutching his head with both hands. He'd broken the sound barrier before himself many times, but nothing could have prepared him for that. Sonic knew the feeling, the back of his head was ringing. He supposed it had to do with the size of the ship trying to break through into space.

"Well this is a new experience." Okida remarked, picking himself up off the floor

* * *

- 

Metal Sonic turned as the Behemoth's sensors picked up a large object leaving Earth's orbit. Almost instantly a holographic display emerged out of nowhere, showing the leader of Metal X Tails' new invention. Slowly, the robotic hedgehog's arms crossed as he regarded this new ship closely. An impressive construction, but even so this action had played directly into his hands. His plan had worked perfectly. His enemies were on their way. It was time to begin phase one of his plan.

(In Chris' Voice)

It's time to head into space again aboard the Blue Typhoon! But can Eggman, who helped create it, be trusted? Why did Metal Sonic turn Mars into an inhabitable world? What's the motive? And Cosmo plays match maker next time on Sonic X; the Voyage of the Blue Typhoon! Don't miss it!

* * *

(Authors note: 

Those of you who have seen Sonic X season 2; please note that I am trying to include elements and events from it, as seen by appearances of both Cosmo and the Blue Typhoon . However I have to remain true to what I've already written, and what the games say; since SEGA has the final word of the plot on Sonic, not the people who make the cartoons. As such, I have to add and take whenever I can. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!

I am not just putting Cosmo or the Blue Typhoon in because of the second season, I'm including them because I can use them in the plot, not just because of the Sonic franchise.


	27. Episode 14

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

(Quick note- I know the proper title is Metarex. I just changed to Metal X because it sounded better.)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO! 

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 14: The voyage of the Blue Typhoon

(Attention: This is a filler Ep, which has more romance than action in it. If romance isn't your thing then either wait for the new Ep to come out or skip ahead. If you want to read this bit anyway; then list how many couplings you can see. Some are blatantly obvious, and others are obscure. One I plan on pulling off may surprise you.

* * *

Going from Earth to Mars would have taken considerably less time to complete if the engines hadn't had a blow out from so much Chaos energy flowing through the conduits. Being the ultimate source of Chaos Energy, a back charge from the Master Emerald had dissolved a good deal of the panels as well; leaving Doctor Eggman with a great deal of work to get on with. As a consequence, the overall speed of the Blue Typhoon had slowed considerably. Where it might have only taken them a few hours to reach Mars at full power, now operating at only a fraction of the overall output; it would be another two days before they arrived. 

With little else to do, the crew of twenty went about the various tasks that were needed to try and get the engines operating again. It would be more than likely that somewhere down the road they'd run into Metal X and they'd need all the energy they could muster.

Being confined on this ship with little places to run was beginning to play on Sonic's mind a little and he couldn't help but fidget. Most of the time, he could be found on the bridge walking around in circles tapping his foot when he stopped. Some of the others who'd come with them were showing symptoms of what Tails had dubbed 'space sickness'. Hare, who was only here under orders was extraordinary grouchy and temperamental. Most ignored him as he'd been like that on the ground, his grumpy nature amplified only by the situation he was in.

Okida however seemed fine. Generally he was down in the hangers, fine tuning the planes and Mechs that stood ready for use. The arsenal he'd brought with him was always kept ready for use. His engineering skills were also coming in handy with repairs to the system.

Tikal proved to be an effective navigator, even with the holographic maps and displays the ships onboard computer projected. But it was obvious it was of little interest to her. One of the most important things to the female Echidna was keeping an eye on the solitary Shadow. The black and red hedgehog was rarely seen by the others on the ship and even then it was only for a few moments. Each time he would make himself know, Tikal was always one of the few people who kept him company.

As for Knuckles, who was the most solitary member of their crew, he spent his entire time in the energy chamber overlooking the Master Emerald. He never once left it's side. Then, with Doctor Eggman onboard most aboard were doing their best to keep him away from anything that might help him betray them.

"I think it's an obsession." Topaz remarked as she watched the Major of Freelance Division rummage around through the cockpit of his Yahger Mech after the weapons system malfunctioned again. "I mean, a Mech seems to be your favourite toy." She added from a metal catwalk that passed through the cargo deck, which was just high enough to come level with the entrance hatch to the machine's controls. Okida's wings would be seen stretched out through that entrance, occasionally twitching as he worked.

"A Mech is standard military hardware." The Major replied, looking up briefly.

"So's a Tank." Okida just looked up in surprise.

"A Tank?" He almost exclaimed. "That things well outdated." He shook his head and got back to his work. "This baby's got more firepower than any tank." Topaz just smiled.

"See? You obsess over Mechs." Casually she leaned on the side of the large cannon protruding from the left side arm of the Yahger. "It's been proven that there's a direct link between testosterone and fighting robots." Okida nearly burst out laughing.

"That might be true." He chuckled, looking over the top of the machine down at her with a coy smile. "But something tells me G.U.N won't be scrapping the design based solely on that opinion." Apart from the Yahger Walker, standing nearby in service stations were a Raptor and the smaller Turtle. All three Mechs were suited for various battle situations. The Yahger was the firepower amongst the three and preformed the best in power struggle situations. The Raptor was more suited for stealth and recon missions, yet could also bring impressive firepower to bear if need be. The Turtle, being the slowest of the three was not meant for actual combat; instead it used it's extremely powerful cannons at a distance as a form of artillery. Okida preferred his blood red Yahger over the others. It was the same machine he had liberated from the Elite before Eggman began his campaign and had developed a little attachment to it.

Okida hesitated for a second, before looking up at Topaz again. "Hey...er, how you doing?" She knew what he meant by that question. Just before she had left to come with the Blue Typhoons crew, she and Tanaka had had a falling out. Such an argument that she had ended up handing him back his ring. The whole experience had left her feeling quite vulnerable, so the other members of Freelance Division were giving her some space when she needed it.

"I'm fine." She replied with a faint smile. Okida, who had had little to no experience in relationships decided it was probably for the best that he didn't try to interfere with something he did not understand. Any advice he could possibly give would not be helpful.

"If you ever need to talk about it…" He added as the only thing he could. Topaz sighed and brushed a few tray hairs out of the way of her face.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that." She told him with a smile that for some strange reason Okida could not understand made him feel slightly week at the knees.

By now, everyone onboard able to explore the ship and get used to the design. Tails had tried to design the interior for luxury, but since it's co-designer had been Eggman the odd piece of pipe work stuck out here and there making it look ugly. Still, since everything here was necessary to keep the airless vacuum of space away from them they supposed they could tolerate it. They were already a day into their trip after they passed by the Eggmoon, pausing only long enough for the Doctor to check in with his own surveillance to gather information; under tight supervision before they carried on.

"Two pair." Bean replied revealing his cards as he, Hare and Bark sat down to a card game in the kitchen area of the ship. This was a long room with several rows of tables all placed in rows occupying most of the space. The kitchen itself was the far end, all the ovens sitting empty still waiting for the supplies they brought with them. Most of which were still down in storage.

"Sorry to do this to you, but I've got a Full house." Hare added smugly, laying his cards down on the table.

"Dammit!" Bean cursed, looking annoyed as he pushed his chips towards the rabbits side of the table.

"When I get back to Earth, I'm going to get myself an expensive Italian suit." The rabbit remarked with a smirk. "Ok Bark, fork over your share of the doe."

"Oh I think not." The polar bear replied, turning over his cards. "Royal Flush…" Hare's jaw dropped to the table.

Cosmo sat alone with her thoughts nearby. Almost miserably she stared down at the table in front of her, trying to figure out some of the questions dogging her mind. Like what were her visions trying to tell her? What did it all mean and ultimately; had she made a mistake in coming here? This dimension was new to her and everything appeared so strange and foreign it disturbed her. On top of that she was still unsure exactly how useful she could be to everyone here. She knew nothing of their enemy, only the name Metal Sonic kept popping up in conversation.

She heard the doors at the far end of the room opened and she looked up. Walking in came Shadow, the black and red hedgehog that Sonic had pointed out to her. She was certain he was the other one she had seen in her visions. The Shade, the second half of the whole being.

At first glance, Shadow appeared rude, self opinionated and almost snobbish. He kept himself away from the others because, Cosmo suspected, he believed himself superior. Yet there was something more to him she wasn't seeing. That female Echidna, the one the others called Tikal was nearly always at his side.

It was just one of the many groups that she could see here. Everyone seemed to keep to their own faction, at least that was what she saw. Tikal would follow Shadow around like some lost puppy Bean, Bark and Hare were always together playing cards it seemed to pass the time. Knuckles kept to himself in the Energy Chamber with the Master Emerald.

As for the three members of the Thorndyke family onboard, they were nearly always working. Sam Speed could be found nearly all the time down in the gangers with the Major, helping to repair and maintain of the equipment and systems. As for Chris and Chuck, they were still busy either keeping an eye on Eggman or helping him with system maintenance up on the navigation decks.

The others, like Sonic, Amy and Rouge wandered about the ship freely. Sonic never seemed to be in one place long enough to talk to.

What was she doing here? Even if her visions where true what possible aid could see offer? If these images were warnings of the future, she could never understand them to be useful. Perhaps she had made a mistake in coming here herself. Maybe she should have tried harder to persuade the others that what she saw was important. In any case, it was too late to do anything about it now. She had used up a great deal of energy opening the dimension rift to come here. Travelling back would be intently harder.

Cosmo ended up wandering amongst the metal corridors of the ship alone, still trying to put some of the pieces together in her mind. When she wandered onto the bridge, only Amy and Tails were there. Tails was half asleep in the main pilots seat tapping his fingers on the side of his chair as he listened to some tunes through a pair of headphones and Amy was watching the Earth out through the windows getting smaller and smaller.

Presently, the blue Typhoon was only going at a quarter of it's maximum speed. Once repairs to the system their speed should increase dramatically. Cosmo would be lying if she said she understood it all.

"Hey Cosmo." Amy called over, seeing the green haired girl enter as the two doors slide to each side. "Suffering from space sickness?" She asked seeing the melancholy look on her face. Out of all the people she'd met thus face, Cosmo had attached mostly to Amy. Although she had been cultivating a friendship with Tails as well.

"Perhaps I made a mistake by coming here. I'll just get in the way." Cosmo wondered out load. "I mean what good am I to people who can run at the speed of sound or use golden energy bolts?" Amy cast her a glance over her shoulder.

"That's the exact same question I asked myself when I first started adventuring with Sonic." Cosmo looked up, her question warranting an explanation. "I mean, I'd seen him tear through entire robots. All I had to fight with was this." She gestured with her head to the hammer which was leaning on her shoulder. "Didn't take me long to figure out I could fight just as well as he could."

Tails was humming a tune to some song with his eyes closed. Cosmo looked up at him. The young fox had found the time to show her around most of the ship, as well as explain to her about Chaos Emeralds. Even in Maginaryworld she had never seen such things, they were probably the most unique thing she had seen thus far in this dimension.

"Oh, hey Cosmo." He began, finally opening his eyes and seeing her, pulling his headphones down. "How's everything on the ship?"

"A little tense." The green haired girl admit with a small smile as the young fox descended from the pilot's seat, the giant space ship set on auto pilot. "I wonder, can you tell me more about this enemy of yours? This Metal Sonic?" Amy's expression suddenly became apprehensive. "Who is he?"

"Metal Sonic was a robot created to destroy Sonic by Doctor Eggman about a year or two ago." Tails began, launching into the long story. First the began with the tale of Metal Sonic's creation, his rise to power within the Eggman Empire and then how Sonic and Shadow had merged into Nazo to defeat him.

"Merged?" Cosmo repeated, looking slightly confused.

"We don't know how they do it, and neither do they; but somehow they managed to join their two bodies into one." Amy began, looking unsure of her story telling powers. "Nazo had tremendous power, and Metal Sonic had stolen the energy of the Master Emerald. The two of them were evenly matched. The fight could have gone either way."

"Who's telling the story?" Tails asked with levelled eyes.

"Oh sorry." Tails resumed the tale, recapping the events after Chuck repaired the robotic hedgehog and for a brief time he became a good friend. Then, about half a year ago he sacrificed himself to save Sonic and Shadow from a blast from the revived Biolizard. In the process he was blown into horribly disfigured bits. Tails description was a little graphic for Cosmo's taste. Then he wrapped it all up with the story by telling her own Metal Sonic had attacked the Icarus on their way back from the ARK with his new Machine Federation.

"I thought you said he'd been destroyed?" Cosmo butted in, looking more confused than ever.

"Someone had gotten to his remains." Tails explained. "Rebuilt his body and then reprogrammed his brain. He doesn't remember breaking free of his destructive programming. All he knows now is hate for Sonic." Cosmo looked thoughtful for a second.

"That must be hard on Sonic, having to fight a friend." She began. Amy sighed, leaning back on one of the consoles.

"It is. He really doesn't want to do it, and there's still a part of him that thinks he can reason with Metal." Without warning, the com system to the bridge turned itself on as someone activated a communication device.

"Hey Tails, can you get down to the cargo decks?" It was Sonic's voice.

"Sure, be right there." The young fox replied, before leaving out through one of the automatic doors.

"I try to be there for him, but Sonic's a head strong guy. He doesn't like to shift the burden of his own problems off onto other people." Amy continued once Tails had gone. Cosmo saw something in her eyes however had hinted at something other than what she was saying.

"You're in love with him." She said after a single moment of revelation. Amy looked at her a little surprised.

"And I thought everyone on the ship knew that, even Sonic." The pink hedgehog forged a smirk. "I fell in love with him from the moment we first met. Sonic just passes most of it off as heroes worship." Her smirk faded a little. "But it's more than that. I love Sonic for who he his. A wild and carefree spirit. I know deep down he feels the same way, but I doubt he'll ever come out and admit it." She suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh that sounded so corny!"

"No No, I thought it sounded beautiful." Cosmo added in. "I'm just surprised Sonic isn't interested." Amy chuckled lightly to herself.

"You and me both."

"Maybe I could help." The pink hedgehog looked up startled at Cosmos' suggestion. "Maybe I can help get you and him together." The green haired girl added.

"And how do you plan to go about doing that?" Amy would be extremely surprised if Cosmo could succeed where she herself had failed for years.

"I'll think of something." Cosmo added thoughtfully.

* * *

- 

"Oh this is too much." Sonic muttered to himself, slapping his face as he stood before Big the Cat after finding the feline and his Frog trapped inside one of the cargo decks. Apparently, Froggy had hoped away from Big again and down into Tails' workshop. When Big finally caught up with him, they were both inside the Blue Typhoon as it was taking off.

Big stood there holding a frozen fish he'd gotten from a cooler with both hands, slowly chewing on it's tail. His frog sat nestled in the fur on his shoulder, croaking now and then.

"We can't turn back now." Tails remarked, scratching the back of his head. The Blue Typhoon was now well beyond Earth's atmosphere. Their mission was far too important for them to turn back because of one stowaway.

Big just looked completely complacent with his fish, as if he had no grasp of the situation he and his Frog was in. Being trapped inside a single chamber with no windows, he had no idea where he was and he had no clue that presently he was souring away from Planet Earth bound for a confrontation with Mars and possibly most of the Metal X army. "We've plenty of room here, we can put him up in a spare room. As long as he keeps out of the way we probably won't notice him." Sonic shot his old friend a side glance. Big was probably the largest person onboard, how could any member of the crew not notice him?

"We won't be staying any longer." Big announced after taking a large bite out of his meal. "Come on Froggy, let's go home." Sonic chuckled, putting his hands on his hips.

"I'd like to see you try." Big just gave the blue hedgehog his common confused look, without a single clue as to what Sonic was going on about.

"We're currently flying above the planets atmosphere and heading off world." Tails explained. Big remained exactly as he was, staring in that flat near emotionless state.

"You know; outer space?" Sonic added, but still Big didn't move a muscle. Sonic waited for an answer, any answer but Big simply stood there with unblinking eyes. Eventually, Sonic lost his patience. "I don't have time for this, Tails you deal with him." He said with a loud irritated sigh, leaving the cargo deck through a large door. Right now, the blue hedgehog had more important things to worry about then their large stowaway. Presently, he was still trying to solve one mystery dogging his mind.

If Doctor Eggman had not been the one to reprogram Metal Sonic back into a bad guy, then who had? The only other one who knew Metal Sonic's electronic mind was Chuck, and he couldn't have done it either.

Another question he couldn't answer was the why. Why had whoever this mysterious player was, even bothered to go to this much trouble in the first place? It didn't make any sense. What could anyone hope to gain by turning Metal Sonic into a villain?

All these aside, Sonic knew what was really bothering him. Metal Sonic had been one of his closest friends, and now he was right back to square one with him. This robotic version of himself had to be stopped by any means possible. But still, he couldn't help but feel reluctant.

"You can stop this mopping right now." A voice said. Looking up, Sonic saw Shadow standing in his way fixing the blue hedgehog with one of his icy glares. "Just where do your loyalties lead you Sonic?" He asked sharply. "Before too long, you'll have to fight him against and in this kind of battle, there's no room for doubt. If you're not one hundred percent sure of what you're doing, he'll tear you to pieces." Sonic felt every word like a bee sting and he set his face in a frown.

"I'd still be fighting and destroying a friend." Was his defence as he sighed out through his nose. Shadow managed a sneer.

"The same friend that'll kill you, your friends and that planet you care so much about if given half the chance." Metal Sonic intentions were more than clear. Once he had the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, he would reactivate a set of ancient machines and with that technology he and his armies would be unstoppable. Their only hope of preventing this disaster was to steal the Emeralds Metal X had already collected and escape with them. At least, that was the plan, but Sonic knew deep down that the only way of truly putting a stop to the Machine Federation was to destroy their leader; Metal Sonic himself. Nothing less would end this madness. "Keep that in mind before you start having second thoughts about this mission." Shadow added as if reading his thoughts, walking past him and soon disappearing through a door.

Sonic remained perfectly still for a moment. The black and red hedgehog was right, as usual. There could be no room for indecision in this fight. If Metal Sonic could be reasoned with, then that was fine. But if he couldn't, then Sonic had to be prepared to do what had to be done.

The thought that perhaps he had been a little to hard on Sonic passed briefly through Shadow's mind, but he quickly banished the idea. Sonic was far too soft and forgiving for his own good. Metal Sonic was ruthless and relentless; nothing short of blood would satisfy him. If the blue hedgehog even expected to survive then he would have to hit Metal Sonic with everything he had and not hold back.

Waiting for him at the end of the corridor, as he'd expected was Tikal. No matter where he went on the ship, she would never be too far away. He supposed he should find her constant presence as annoying, but for some reason her company seemed strangely more inviting than that of most of the entire crew.

"Are you spying on me?" He asked briefly as he passed her. The female Echidna joined his side as he carried on.

"Spying? On you? Hardly a worth while activity." She stated with a grin. Shadow decided not to humiliate himself by replying to that. "I just thought you might use a little company."

"I've done all right on my own so far." The black hedgehog replied, reaching a curved set of doors that lead to one of the many lifts that lanced up and down throughout the vessel. The Blue Typhoon being as large as it was, elevators were needed to get to most of the upper levels. "Besides, I'm beginning to think it's not me that needs your company." He added as they both stepped inside and the lift began moving upwards. "Rather the other way around." Tikal fixed him with a side ways glance. "Your one of the last Echidna's." Shadow continued. "The one other survivor isn't talkative, so you need someone else to latch onto."

"Are you trying to be funny?" She asked flatly. Shadow just maintained a smirk. He didn't need her to admit it. Being one of the last of a long dead race would make anyone lonely. All the other Echidna's were dead now, most of them devoured by the raging flood waters of Perfect Chaos as it ripped through their city. He had seen it first hand, after he and Sonic had discovered an ancient device on Angel Island that transported them into Mobius' past to witness the event.

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened out a new level were Eggman was still working on a large section of pipe.

The Doctor was always being watched. The others took it in turns to keep an eye on him and his two robots while they worked. The Major Okida had stated that if Eggman tried anything funny, then he would personally throw him out the nearest air lock. Right now, Omega; the last of the failed E100 series was standing nearby. The assault units large red eyes kept fixed on him. If the Doctor so much as sneezed without permission, the heavily armoured fighting machine would have words with him.

Still, that did not leave Eggman with absolutely no tricks up his sleeves. Most of his technology had been taken off him, apart from a single colony of Nano bots he had managed to conceal inside one of his Hence bots. They were invisible to scanner's so Omega's own system sensors could not pick them up. They were his trump card in case the worst should happen, or if opportunity knocked for him. Either way, they were his life line.

Pausing from his work over a panel, he gestured to the carrier of his colony; Becoe, to approach the service pipes that ran horizontally through the engine room heading through another series of pipes before being relayed into the Emerald chamber where Knuckles stood watch over the Master Emerald. Omega, who was paying his attention completely to Eggman didn't noticed the smaller robot approach a small port hatch the Doctor had been working on a minute ago. Inside which were a mess of wires and cables, all snaking along inside the pipe humming as Chaos energy flowed through. Lowering his hang onto it, Becoe paused long enough for the swarms of microscopic robots inside his body to culminate along his limb and then make the jump from him to the ship itself.

Eggman managed a large sadistic grin as Becoe retracted his hand and gave his creator a thumbs up. Now, he had a system of his own onboard this vessel; one he could deploy at any given moment. But not now. There was no point in pulling off his plan yet. It was far too soon, it was best to let his enemies beat each other up first.

"Shift change Omega." Shadow stated, leaping down from a catwalk above leaving Tikal up there. "I'll watch him now." The large attack unit's head turned a full ninety degrees to see the black and red Hedgehog. A second later, the hour elapsed on the robots internal clock and his watch over Eggman was officially over.

Acknowledging with only a nod of his head, Omega picked himself up on his small legs and marched out of the room.

"I'm warning you Eggman." Shadow began, glaring down at the fat scientist with his red eyes burning. "Don't try anything."

"Me?" Eggman asked in the most innocent voice he could manage. "Wouldn't dream of it." Behind his back however, he cast a thumbs up to his robot lackey for a job well done.

* * *

- 

Once Tails had managed to get it into Big's head that he was on a space ship, the large feline had nearly gone mad with worry. He'd never been in outer space before and anything out of the ordinary filled him with intense worry. So to end this tedious and annoying task, the young fox simply had him in a room without any windows to see the emptiness around him and left it at that. As long as Big got a meal three times a day, he probably won't bother them.

So far as duties on the ship went, there was very little for him to do until Doctor Eggman got the engines back up to full power. Until then, he could leave the vessel on Auto-pilot. Still, there had to be something he could do to alleviate boredom. Heading back down to the cargo decks, he decided to see if there was anything that needed fixing there.

The only things that needed any work where the three Mech's onboard and Major Okida already had that covered. By now, most of his clothes were covered in oil as well as a good deal of his fur. The only other people down there besides him was Topaz surprising him with the maintenance of the Mech's and Sam Speed, who was busy going over the engine of his jet car, a revolutionary vehicle that could morph from land to air at any given time.

"Alright, that's it, you're taking a bath." Topaz remarked, holding her nose as Okida popped his head up as Tails said hello. The major just levelled his eyes and ducked back under to finish his work. "I'm not kidding here, you smell like you've spent three days inside a combustion engine." She added leaning over the side of the Mech.

"I probably have. I'm too busy right here." The vampire bat remarked with a short chuckle, passing up to Tails a wrench. The young fox could instantly see what Topaz meant by the smell, the thick overpowering fragrance of oil and smoke coming from the inside of the machine and from the Major himself was making his fur curl.

"You're going to have a clean if I have to wash you myself!" Topaz warned him with a steadfast glare. Faced with that prospect, Okida quickly stood up and sniffed himself. He shrank away from his own smell having apparently been vaguely unaware of how much he smelt.

"Well, maybe a short shower." He began with a grin. Topaz grabbed him by the red drape he always had hung around his neck and pulled him out of the machine with one yank.

"You're not going to get back to work until you smell less like the inside of a Mech." She told him sternly, sending him hurrying off towards the showers on this level of the ship.

"Who's in command of Freelance again?" Tails asked, putting Okida's wrench back in the tool box at his feet. Topaz managed a short giggle. As for Chris and Chuck, they'd been travelling up and down the ship all day, fixing this maintaining that; in the last several hours Chuck must have run dozens of system checks on nearly every piece of hardware on board. By now, he was very tried and by the time he reached a bunk he fell asleep even before he'd climbed into bed. Chris had been busy as well, but managed to maintain more energy than his grandfather; so instead of nearly collapsing once his own work had been done, he went to get some food from the kitchens.

By now, someone had brought the food up from the cargo decks and it was all stacked in boxes just outside the kitchen door. Reaching into one, Chris withdrew an apple and sank his teeth into it.

"Chris." A voice called. Looking up, Chris saw the recent edition to their group; the Seer Cosmo, approach him.

"Oh hey." He began. "Something wrong?" He asked again, suddenly noting the look on her face.

"How long have you known Sonic and Amy?" She asked looking up at him. Chris blinked in confusion for a second. He took the opportunity to describe how he first met Sonic, after rescuing him from drowning in his swimming pool. He encountered Amy a little later, when Sonic confronted Doctor Eggman for the first time in this world. That had been over a few years ago now.

"Why you ask?" He added after finishing his story. By now, they were sitting at a table in the empty dining hall. Bean, Bark and Hare had finished their game and gone off elsewhere so the two of them had the place to themselves.

"I'm trying to find a way to get them both together." Cosmo admitted, looking thoughtful as she stared down at the second apple Chris had fetched her. The human looked stunned for a second.

"Well I know Amy would leap at the chance." He began. "But as for Sonic, I doubt he'd like the idea of committing to anything. He likes to run anywhere he feels like, and he doesn't think he can do that if something tying him down to one person or place." Cosmo looked up at him with wide eyes.

"That must be lonely." Chris hesitated. He hadn't actually thought about it that way before. He supposed that it might be, running from place to place with no one beside you at all. Chris had always admired Sonic's freedom, but in some warped way he supposed Sonic was more trapped then the rest of them.

"'Suppose so." He began, taking another bite out of his apple. "Well, I guess I can help if you want me to."

"Thanks." Cosmo said with a short smile.

* * *

- 

**Flip card 1:**

Name: Shadow

Age; 68

Species: Hedgehog

Description: Created over five decades ago by Prof. Gerald Robotnik, Shadow is revered as the Ultimate life form.


	28. Episode 14, part 2

**Flip card 2:**

Name: Knuckles

Description: As the guardian of the Master Emerald, the last Echidna would never leave it alone undefended.

* * *

Knuckles did not like it here. Right now, he would much prefer to be back at the Emerald Shrine on Angel Island floating above the clouds. Instead, he found himself sitting at the bottom of a metal duplicate of the shrine inside the Blue Typhoon's energy core. The Master Emerald sat aloft, its steady green glow pulsating like the beating of a heart. The three other Chaos Emeralds the others had been able to gather were placed at the top of a group of metallic pillars around the side. These, at least Tails claimed, helped to unlock the Chaos energy trapped within the Master Emerald. 

The Echidna though this chamber was an ugly duplication of his home. The floors and ceiling around the shrine were coated nearly completely in wires and capable, carrying the energy away from where it was needed.

Knuckles still had no idea why the Master Emerald agreed for the two of them to head out on this fiasco. This was not his fight. This only concern was to keep the Master Emerald safe on Angel Island. Never once had he considered himself subordinate to the Emerald itself, but it quickly rectified that when it began ordering him about. What precisely did it know that he didn't? Normally it would not interfere with the affairs of the world around it, so whatever danger it sensed coming had to be big.

Still, it was telling him nothing and he knew there was no point in arguing with it. It hardly spoke back. If left alone to his mediation, this place might have been endurable, if she hadn't decided to act as his baby sitter.

Sitting nearby admiring the Master Emerald a little too much than Knuckles found comfortable was Rouge. She was the only person on this entire ship he spoke to. Sonic came in now and then to see how he was doing but apart from this, Rouge was his only companion here. Not that he needed any companionship. He'd gotten by just fine until now without it.

Trying to think back to a point where he had been alone on Angel Island, he stopped; finding that whatever memory of that revered time appeared flat and emotionless. Looking back at it, he realized just how utterly boring his life had been until he got thrown into the mix of things. Now used to his guardianship being interrupted every other day, any notion of going back to those placid and dull days seemed unappealing.

Groaning, he realized that Sonic's uncontrollable lust for adventure had infected him despite his best efforts.

"Here." Rouge called over, tossing an object wrapped in foil his way. Catching it in one hand, Knuckles unwrapped it to find a baguette sandwich. Once food was within sight, he was instantly reminded that he had not eaten in over a day. Events had been so out of control he'd forgotten to. "If that big o' jewel up there could speak, it'd be telling you that you forget the little things half the time. Stuff like eating." She added with a short grin, floating down to sit beside him as he ate. "You know, what you need is a vacation to get your mind off the Emerald for at least a week. Maybe somewhere in the tropics?" The bat suggested, looking up towards the ceiling thoughtfully. Knuckles paused from his meal to give her a side glance. "Oh come on, don't tell me that doesn't sound even the slightest bit appealing to you?" She leaned forward so her face was level with his, a sly almost seductive grin playing over her lips. "I'd be glad to come with you; I'd even bring something kinky to…"

"Alright, stop right there." The Echidna quickly butted in with a powerful blush on his face despite his tone. "I'm sure there are plenty of other people on this ship you can bother." Rouge feigned a disappointed look.

"Oh, don't you like that idea? Guardians don't take vows of celibacy do they?" Knuckles hesitated.

"Well no but…" Without any warning, she flung herself against him; her arms wrapped around his shoulders lovingly. At that point, Knuckles was silently pleading with the door at the far end of the chamber to open up and let anyone through to interrupt this awkward moment.

"You know what you're problem is?" Rouge began, poking him on the cheek playfully. "Growing up on an island alone, you don't know what you're supposed to do in this situation do you?" Knuckles wanted to argue back, but couldn't think of any answer he could give that wouldn't end up with him looking like a fool. Apart from that, there was some truth to her words. Since infancy, all Knuckles had ever known was Angel Island and his solitude. Living along like that, he had devolved little to no social skills.

Not only that, but he hadn't known family either. For the first time in his entire life, the red Echidna realized just how lonely his existence had been. His shoulders slumped. Seeing what Sonic and his friends enjoyed, Knuckles finally felt the emptiness deep inside.

He'd been telling himself different for years, but the verbal acrobatics had not made the fact go away. He _had_ been lonely on that island, all alone for so long. Just like Rouge had guessed. The only thing that had kept him admitting it earlier had been fear. Fear that if he did, it would mean the end for everything he was familiar with. The end to his way of life.

"All I have is the Master Emerald." He began, all the same looking utterly defeated. "It's all I've ever known." He left a soft gloved hand on his chin. Looking back, he saw Rouge smiling at him.

"You know me don't you?" She asked him. He knew what she was offering, to be another part of his small world. Mixed feelings swelled up, threatening to overflow if he didn't keep a lid tightly on them.

Sighing, he picked himself up and made his way to the top of the metal version of the shrine, to stare directly into the Master Emerald. Rouge quickly joining his side.

The red Echidna was staring directly into the depths of the giant jewel with unblinking eyes. Whatever he could see in it, she couldn't. Being so close to it, its guardian, Knuckles shared a relationship with the Master Emerald that escaped her reason. It could speak to him on a level she could only imagine.

Perhaps she was fooling herself. What room did Knuckles have in his life for her when he was bound like he was to the fate of the Emerald? They were two very different people with very different life styles.

Slowly, she turned away to leave. Stopping her however was Knuckles' hand resting on her shoulder. Looking back, she could see that the red Echidna was smiling. Actually smiling, Knuckles? _THE_ Knuckles?

"I'm sorry Rouge." He admitted solemnly. "I've been a complete jerk to you."

"You can say that again Knucklehead." She replied with a grin, messing up his dreadlocks.

"I've lived alone for so long, I forgot how it felt to be around other people and before you arrived in my life no ones ever been this close to me." Without any warning, he leant forward and hugged her. Rouge's eyes widened at this action, one she would never have expected from him. "I'm not as proud as Sonic or shadow, so I'll admit how stupid I've been. I needed you." For at least a minute, Rouge was utterly certain her heart had stopped beating. Knuckles was just a like a little kid, frightened of the world as it's unfamiliar ways so he turned away from it all to live alone. But now he had discovered that no one could remain alone.

"Oh how deeply moving." A voice stated and the two of them looked up to see Sonic standing at the entrance to the chamber with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his face. The two of them broke away from each other, blushing intently. The blue hedgehog snickered under his breath. "Mind locking the door next time?" he asked casually.

"I…er." Knuckles began, trying to explain but found himself tripping over his own tongue.

"Save it." Sonic added with an apprehensive grin, walking inside. "Chuck tells me…" he paused and reached for a piece of paper he had tucked into his left glove, unfolding it to read what was written down. "That pipe lines…five to ten burnt out again. He says they'll need replacing." A dark rustling reached Knuckles ears and he looked back, to see that Rouge had completely disappeared.

"Little help lover boy?" Sonic asked, pushing a large metal panel off the side of the wall, exposing several pipelines running through it. Knuckles growled at him.

"That, er, wasn't what it looked like." He began scratching the back of his head nervously, anything appropriate to say in this situation lost to him. Sonic just chuckled to himself and pull a few burnt cables away from the side of the wall.

There was the fifth blow out today. At this rate, any hope of activating the jump engine and getting to Mars instantaneously would evaporate. Still Chuck confidentially claimed that once he had the right system settings in place, the Chaos energy that surged through the vessel should stabilise. Not that Sonic actually knew what that entailed; the only thing he had to understand was that once everything was fixed, they went faster.

"Sonic, we need you up at the bridge a second." Tails voice announced over the intercom nearby.

"I'm kinda busy here." The blue hedgehog announced, hanging Knuckles several sections of burnt cable before going looking for the replacements which Chuck had told him were stashed somewhere around here.

"It's sorta important." Tails continued as Knuckles gestured over to the corner, where a large collection of replacements had been placed in a log like pile, all tied together by leather straps. Sonic scratched the back of his head for a second.

"Knuckles, can you take care of this?" The Echidna, who was grateful for any excuse to be alone and out of an embarrassing situation just nodded; even thought his scientific knowledge was none existent. "Fine, I'll be right up." The blue hedgehog groaned, leaving the Energy chamber.

Everyone onboard was rush off their feet trying to get this vessel working properly. Sonic wouldn't have been surprised if Eggman had engineered these faults purposely when he helped create it to slow them down. Of course a ploy like that didn't make any sense, but Sonic couldn't help but feel their temporary ally was up to something behind their back.

At least this delay had given them time to plan. Their overall scheme would depend entirely on what Metal X was up to on Mars, but ultimately their goal was to steal the three Chaos Emeralds that they had, defeat their generals and bring down Metal Sonic. How they went about doing that was still up in the air.

Rounding a corner, Sonic came to one of the lifts. This one had just reached his level and when the doors opened, he found Amy standing inside.

"Oh there you are." The pink hedgehog started. "Tails wants us up at the bridge."

"He asked you to come as well?" Sonic asked stepping inside with the doors closing behind him. Amy just nodded and pressed a button on the side and the lift started to ascend.

"Now!" Cosmo stated with a short grin and Chris threw the switch, cutting power to that section of the ship the lights going off, the hum of Chaos energy passing through the walls ceasing and the lift coming to a complete stop with a sudden jolt that nearly knocked Sonic off his feet. "There, now all we do is sit back and wait." The green haired seer added, rubbing her hands together as her plan got underway.

"You certain this is going to work?" Chris asked down at her sceptically. Cosmo just nodded.

"I got the idea from this book Topaz showed me." She admitted, producing a leather back book entitled; Trapped in the Lift. According to the summary on the back, the plot was about two people who couldn't stand each other getting trapped in an elevator for several hours and in that time they fall in love with one another. Apparently, Cosmo had decided to adapt the idea into her plans.

"But that's fiction!" Chris began looked a little stunned. "Does that kind of thing happen in real life?"

"Oh ye of little faith." Cosmo announced looking sly. "I'm a Seer, it's my job to predict the future. And right now I predict love." Her expression was ominous. Chris suddenly had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

"We can't keep them locked in there forever." Tails put in. Shutting down power from the bridge meant cluing the young fox into her plan. "Exactly how long do you want them in there?" Cosmo looked thoughtful for a second.

"Well, about an hour I think."

Sonic looked out through the window to see how high they were, thinking that perhaps if he knocked the doors open they could jump out. That idea was quickly abandoned when he saw that any attempt to jump would end up severely injuring both of them. Now that he believed he could knock out the doors. They looked pretty sturdy and nothing sort of a spin attack was going to dislodge them, and that felt too risky as well. Since all the lights on this level had gone out, he guessed that there must be another cable blow out somewhere; cutting off the juice not just to the life but to the lights as well.

"Typical." He muttered to himself, looking around for a com or something he could use to see if someone could get them moving again. Amy had already tried it, only to find power had been cut from that as well.

"Looks like we're stuck here still someone's fixes the problem." She started.

"With so many things going wrong all over the ship; that could be some time." Sonic replied, slumping down against the side of the lift interior, looking bored. Amy joined him at his side.

"Hey, you ok?" She asked, suddenly noting his melancholy expression; hardly the standard Sonic look she was familiar with.

"I'm fine." She knew instantly that was an untruth. As if she could sense it from him, she knew he was still worried about what would happen if they ran into Metal Sonic again. That notion had been dogging all of their minds for a while now, but it was hitting Sonic the hardest. He was the one who convinced the rest of them that Metal had changed, that he was one of them now.

"Hey, talk to me; I'm right here." She offered, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No really, I'm fine." Sonic replied. "I already got the low-down from Shadow, I'll have to fight Metal sooner or later. Not much I can do about it."

"That doesn't mean you have to like it." Amy added. "I know I don't." Sonic decided that it was probably best for his mental health if he stopped brooding on it. Shadow had been right; no amount of mopping was going to change the facts. Sonic gave her a short grin.

"You know; guys our age shouldn't be up to ours necks in this kind of trouble." Amy could see where he was coming from with that statement. Most teenagers their age were either in college or out enjoying their youth any place they felt like. As for them, they were all too busy trying to stop the latest evil megalomaniac from taking over the world. Whether it ranged from Eggman to Metal Sonic, or even dark gods intent on destroying everything; there was always someone distracting them from the simple teenage fun others enjoyed.

"Yeah, most people like us are supposed to be living on campus." Amy replied with a smile of her own. "Yet here we are on a space ship flying to Mars. One adventure after another with us." Sonic laughed out load.

"Wouldn't have it any other way would we?" He asked, holding up a fist. Amy formed her own fist and they tapped knuckles.

"What other way is there?" She asked with a very Sonic style grin. As Cosmo's intended hour ticked by, Sonic and Amy's conversations did not drift to romantic intent like she'd originally predicted. Instead, they spent all that time talking about their lives, their friends and other things two friends might talk about.

Hardly the intention Cosmo had had in mind, but regardless it had preformed both Sonic and Amy a great service. Through these discussions, they gained insight into each other's character; learning details and traits they might never have expected. Sonic for example learnt that Amy wasn't a fan of high healed shoes. While that piece of information might have seemed trivial to the passing observer, Sonic found it surprising, having always imagined Amy to have a passion for that kind of thing.

Vice versa, Amy discovered the blue hedgehog's first ambition had been to be an author. The pink hedgehog nearly burst out laughing at that point, knowing full well that while Sonic wasn't illiterate his grammar skills were none existent. He had even once misspelled the word; Tooth.

"I did not!" Sonic defended himself adopting a shocked look.

"You spelt it T-O-T-H-E." Amy announced between laughs. "You a writer? What did you plan on writing?"

"Well er…" Sonic began looking slightly embarrassed. "I always wanted to write Sci-Fi." Amy hadn't stopped giggling. "Ok then, what did you first want to be?" He asked her with a near sadistic grin.

"Can we change the subject?" The pink hedgehog began, suddenly ceasing her laughter.

"Oh no you don't." Sonic persisted. "Come on, out with it." Amy clamped her lips together in a stubborn expression. She crossed her arms and looked away, shaking her head. "It can't have been that bad." Amy remained silent. "Not chicken ah yah?" He asked, flapping his arms like a fowl.

"Promise not to laugh?" She asked after a moment of silent contemplation. Sonic made a cross sign on his heart. "I'd always wanted to be a racer." The blue hedgehog just sat there looking a little confused.

"Why would I have laughed at that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, every other girl wanted to be something like a dancer or a model. I just came out and said I wanted to race." She formed a smile. "But thanks for not laughing anyway."

This time spent talking had lifted Sonic's spirits far more than even he would have anticipated. He knew it sounded corny, but with friends like Amy by his side; he knew he had what it took to take on his robotic clone.

As soon as the hour had gone by, Tails flipped the switch restoring power and the lift stared moving again. Once it reached the next level up, the doors opened and the found Chris and Cosmo standing there waiting for them.

"You know how long we've been in there?" Sonic asked feigning a furlong look.

"Since the power went off, I think about an hour." Chris replied, suppressing a smug grin. Sonic noticed the strange look on his face and paused, then looked towards Cosmo who had adopted a similar expression. Something at the back of his head told him something was up, but it was quickly silenced as Doctor Eggman's voice crackled over the ships intercom.

"I'm done working, so if the rest of you would be so kind as to join me on the bridge we can get going." He barked in his usual arrogant voice before falling silent.

"Must have fixed the engines." Chris commented. "Guess we can get going now."

"It was a nice try Cosmo." Amy commented, whispering to the green haired seer when Sonic wasn't looking their way. "I appreciate the effort, but I'd like to win Sonic on my own terms. Thanks anyway." With that she walked off and Sonic disappeared through the corridors in a blue flash. Cosmo just looked stunned that she had figured out that she had been behind all that.

Amy hadn't been angry with her for locked the two of them in a lift for an hour because she knew he intentions. Plus Cosmo was struggling to deal with her own problem, feeling that she useless amongst the others. This scheme of hers had been her attempt to put some purpose in his presence here.

"It took a little work, but I have it online." Eggman announced once most of the crew excluding Omega and Knuckles had arrived on the bridge, running his hands over the rows of buttons at the front of the ship, the holographic displays upfront changing as he did so. "Give me a minute to charge the system and we'll be underway." He added quickly, pulling up several programs at once.

"The systems stable now." Chuck told them as they waited for Eggman to finish the preparations. "We shouldn't have anymore failures. At least, we shouldn't." The overpowering energy from the Master Emerald had finally been managed into a steady stream inside of a tidal wave. The problem, Chuck discovered, was that they hadn't taken into account how much energy could be absorbed from the Emerald at one time. The ship's system had taken in to much and the result was failures throughout the vessel.

The finality of this moment poked hard at Sonic. After this point there was no going back, it was either they destroyed Metal Sonic or Metal Sonic destroyed them. There could be no room for doubt now.

"Ok, all set." Eggman told them, backing away from the console and strapping himself into his seat; his two robots doing the same. Tails had even clamped himself to his chair, still with both hands on the controls. On the holographic screen, a countdown from thirty seconds began. Even from here, they could feel the steady vibration as the engines began to build up more energy preparing for the jump. "You may want to sit down." Eggman told them over his shoulder as half the countdown elapsed. Getting the gist, they quickly found seats.

At the back of the Blue Typhoon, the cone like end of the engines began to resonate and glow bright gold; the loud humming that indicated the presence of Chaos Energy growing to a near deafening pitch. Eggman's jump engine had been the end result into his scientific pursuits of Chaos Control. Ever since discovered the warp creating capabilities of Chaos Energy, the Doctor had been trying to invent ways of harnessing the power. This new system, if it worked, would be the fruits of his labours.

"If this doesn't work…" Sonic began, suddenly looking a little worried. "What happens?"

"You really don't want to know." Eggman told him confidently. In that next section, the countdown reached zero. The space around the Blue Typhoon rippled like the water in a pond, whatever lay in sight horribly distorted for a single moment before the engines kicked in one last time and with a sudden burst, the ship went rocketing forward at an impossible speed; so fast that a hole was torn in the fabric of space and the Typhoon disappeared inside.

* * *

- 

The three Chaos Emeralds belonging to the Machine Federation glowed brightly as the rest of their group approached. Metal Sonic stood over their glass display case watching their pulsating glow. This plan was working perfectly.

So far, Equinox was reporting that their experiments were having a mixed success rate. Some of the duplications seemed able to manifest Chaos Energy, while others died almost instantaneously. Fortunately, none of the experiments had blown up in their faces thus far and the positive results were proving very potent. For the meanwhile at least, it would prove profitable to keep experimenting. The trail and error process was coming to an end and Equinox assured him that he would soon have the technique perfected.

Repair robot repair bays stood a short distance away, long mechanical arms reaching down to work on the armour of three of Metal Sonic's inquisitions. Metal Knuckles, Egg Robo and the Third E1004: Theta. The latter had been destroyed during a conflict with Sonic, but thanks to some of the technology taken from the Eggman Empire; Metal Sonic was able to reconstruct his body from the blueprints. Within hours, he would be operational once again. All three of them had had their Eggman logo's removed and replaced with the Metal X symbol.

"You have conquered quite a daring plan." A voice behind him stated from an origin more than familiar. Turning his head, Metal Sonic saw that his mysterious benefactor had appeared again, a dark figure clad in a robe that concealed his robe. His face was hidden behind a hood and a long metallic mask that gleamed brightly in the semi light coming through the windows. The visor of the mask was glowing bright green. ""Yet I fear I must warn you not to overestimate your own abilities." He continued, half lurking in the darkness. "Sonic can be a very dangerous enemy, and I still believe you made a mistake in letting him live."

_"How I deal with him is of no concern to you."_ The robotic hedgehog replied_. "My plan is fool proof. By the end of it, I will have all seven Chaos Emeralds in my grasp and Sonic at my feet."_ His visitor remained silent for a moment.

"Oh very well, if you insist on doing it your way my trying to persuade you otherwise would be pointless." He remarked flatly. "Although, you should know that Sonic does not travel alone to destroy you, he has many companions." Metal Sonic turned back towards the windows with a short chuckle.

_"None of his lackeys could ever hope to match me."_ He stated confidently.

"Not even Shadow?"

_"None of them."_ Metal repeated forcefully, clenching a fist in mid air; the hollow ringing of metal against metal resonating throughout the chamber.

"Pride comes before a fall Metal Sonic." His benefactor reminded him, the glow from his visor increasing slightly. "Never underestimate an opponent, and never hold back in a fight." Metal Sonic whirled around, his cape flying out behind him.

_"You presume to teach me?" _He asked angrily. _"What could you ever know that I do not?"_ Even under the mask, the robotic hedgehog could almost feel the figure grinning sadistically.

"A lot more than you think." Was the reply before he faded away. Metal Sonic stared him down for a moment, before turning back towards the three Chaos Emeralds he had collected; their glow was steadily increasing as the remainder of the set slowly moved towards them.

* * *

- 

(Well how many couplings did you see? Two, three, or more? Really, I'm interested to see how many managed to see the newest edition I snuck in.)

(In Chris' voice)

Maybe next time Cosmo! Tails gets to put his new ship to the test as the crew arrive at Mars, only to face Metal Sonic's right hand General; Dark Oak, one of the most powerful in Metal X. Can they escape this unstoppable titan and the rest of the Metal X army? Find out next time on Sonic X, Enter Dark Oak. Don't miss it!


	29. Episode 15

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 15: Enter Dark Oak

* * *

Sonic felt like this entire body was stretched and compressed all at once, the rippling of the space around him distorting anything he could see. All the others had vanished in a red haze that engulfed the entire line of sight, leaving Sonic alone in a distorting reality. Twisting like the eye of a vortex, the entire ship rippled like the surface of water as it passed through the giant sized worm hole Eggman's jump engines had ripped open. 

Finally with a sudden thrust that almost tore him from his seat, the Blue Typhoon was sent flying back into normal space. The air and space around him solidified back into normalcy so quickly it made his eyes hurt. The loud humming made by the engines was now subsiding as they shut down, their systems drained by the jump.

"What a ride!" Bean, who was sitting in his own seat not to far away declared smashing a fist into the air triumphantly. "Can we do that again?"

"No we bloody can't!" Hare replied forcefully, his brown fur hiding the green tinge his skin had taken. Tails unclipped himself from his seat, his own head swimming. The jump had been more strenuous on his body then he had anticipated, and judging by the drain expression on the others faces, it hadn't been a picnic for them either.

"I think I left my stomach behind." Knuckles remarked, placing a hand on his chest; suddenly looking very sick.

"Oh, poor baby." Rouge remarked, putting a hand to his forehead as if to check his temperature. Eggman took a moment to clear his head, feeling as if his entire body had been turned upside down in his skin. He made a mental note to install some sort of buffer to remove that unpleasant experience the next time. Running his hands over the console in front of himself, he began checking the ships systems. One by one, the lights on the desk began lighting up either red or green. Red for errors and green for those that were working without any problems. By ratio, about a third of the ship had been knocked offline during the jump. Great, that was just what he needed; more repair work. Well, this was what trail and error test runs were all about he supposed. As soon as he perfected the technology, this wouldn't become a problem. Luckily the systems that were operational were the vital ones like weapons, life support and propulsion.

"Well, are we here?" Shadow asked, emerging out of a small Chaos Control warp onto the centre of the bridge, Tikal at his side.

"Give me a minute." Eggman replied, ordering the shutters that had closed over the windows on the bridge to open. There was a loud clanking loud and slowly the metal sheets rose out of view, revealing that intend their position in space had changed. Now, the Typhoon had settled in orbit around a blue planet, the gentle dusting of green just below a thick cloud cover. At the north pole, perpetual ice had spread across most of the northern hemisphere. The rest of the planet looked almost completely green. It looked more like Earth than the dusty wasteland they'd been expecting.

"Is that Mars?" Chris asked looking stunned.

"Impossible!" Chuck stated in utter amazement, staggering back away from the windows. But the evidence was more than clear, the ship showed the co-ordinates were correct. Whatever Metal Sonic had done had to Mars had transformed it into a lush green world.

Eggman wasted no time being stunned, quickly he pulled up a scanned holographic map of the planet below; mapping the continents and large islands in-between a expansive ocean. According to the readings, Mars now had a breathable atmosphere with conditions almost identical to Earth. "Terraformation…" Chuck began, staring up at the large holographic display being projected into the centre of the bridge. "Astounding."

"It doesn't make any sense though." Eggman mused, scratching his chin. Metal Sonic's agenda was the conquest of Earth, once he collected all seven Chaos Emeralds that is. Even if the advanced technology he stole from the Eggman Empire could do something as monumental as this, what could the robotic hedgehog possibly hope to gain? He had to have some kind of scheme that required Mars as an inhabitable world. What that plan was they would have to discover. Whatever it entailed Eggman doubted it would be friendly. "I'm reading activity on the surface." He announced, a blinking light next to his station lighting up. "We're too high in orbit to tell for sure, but I think they're robotic signatures."

Sonic frowned, smacking a fist into an open palm.

"Metal X." He said, scowling. "Metal Sonic's here alright." Tails sat back down in the pilots seat, taking hold of one of the hand held controls, pressing a free other buttons with his free hand.

"I'll try to take us down into a lower orbit." The main engines, the one used to make the jump were still offline but the propulsion thrust had the green light. Slowly, with a loud groan of reluctance, the glow from the back of the blue Typhoon emerged again and slowly the vessel moved down from it's high orbit towards the planet, the slow glow of atmospheric friction burning around it's underside as it descended.

The floor trembled as slowly they went down. All of them watched through the windows as the blackness of space began to fade, faint strands of a blue sky filtering upwards.

"Right, do we have any plan?" Okida asked suddenly looking apprehensive. "I mean, I'm presuming we know what we're going to do when we get down there."

"A plan? As in, think ahead?" Sonic asked, faking a shocked expression. "Now there's an alien concept."

"I'm being serious here." The vampire bat stated with levelled eyes. With a sudden liquid rumbling, laser fire came flying out of nowhere, striking the Typhoon across it's hull, knocking it slightly off course. Alarms began blaring as the ships tipped violently to the side, another volley ringing out.

"Weapons fire!" Eggman declared, trying to gain control of the ship as it was bombarded with laser beams, striking it in multiple points across the hull. "We have incoming!" Emerging out through the side of the clouds, dangerously close to their own ship came the Behemoth. The ship was just as large as they remembered, a colossal construction a great healer larger than their own vessel. Shaped like a galleon, thousands of laser turrets littered its decks, all aimed directly at them.

Breaking through the clouds, dragging thick trails around it the ship was filling the entire line of sight.

Another volley crossed the distance between them, tearing a hole through the mid section of the Typhoon.

"We have a structural breech!" Chuck reported, looking over his own station. With a loud bleeping, a new holographic display appeared as a signal was sent from the Behemoth to their own ship. Glaring at them over the com link were the half eclipsed eyes of Metal Sonic himself, founder of the Metal X Machine Federation.

_"You trespass in Metal X territory."_ He stated. Sonic looked up at them with clenched teeth._ "Access to this planet is denied."_

"Whatever scheme you've got hatched, we'll stop you!" The blue hedgehog shouted up at him. Metal Sonic began to chuckle softly. That laugh set Sonic's temper on fire. And he clenched a fist up towards the visage of his robotic clone. "What's funny?"

_"Idiot." _Metal Sonic stated flatly._ "I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting my first General yet have you?"_ Metal Sonic's face disappeared and was replaced by a new figure, a tall robot clad in violet samurai type armour. Flowing out from behind a pair of triangular shoulder blades was a long grey clock, flapping violently in the wind. Directly in the centre of it's head was a single green eye, glowing brightly. A Mohawk like piece of metal curved up the back of the head while two horn like spikes shot out either side. In one hand, it held a curved scimitar like sword with a spike lancing backwards at the end in a hook. He was standing on the deck outside the Behemoth, staring directly at them with it's Cyclops eye. He wasn't the tallest of the four general's but by far he was the most imposing.

Sonic felt a lump in his throat. This robot wasn't like the others. There was something…else, something he couldn't place. _"Dark Oak, please present them your credentials." _Metal Sonic's voice continued.

_"At once my Lord."_ Dark Oak, the first General Metal Sonic created replied with a short bow before the holographic message disappeared.

On the deck of the ship, the strongest Metal X commander clenched both hands around the hilt of his sword, raising the weapon high into the air. After a comment, chaos energy began sparking widely up his arms and into the blade, it's edge glowing bright gold as power began to accumulate. Sonic watched from the Typhoon as Dark Oak became a bright star, glowing so bright it was blinding all those who looked at it. Tightening his grip around the hilt, Dark Oak turned towards their ship and swung down, an arch of the most destructive energy flowing forward; expanding as it travelled forward, the air shaking as it neared.

"INCOMING!" Okida nearly screeched and a second later it stuck them. The force was cataclysmic, tearing a gorge through the side of the ship; almost ripping the Typhoon in half. Knocked off their feet, the crew was hapless as the sheer magnitude of the blow send the ship into a dive bomb. Screeching, blowing smoke, the Typhoon fell from the upper reaches of the atmosphere and down towards the planet itself.

Dark Oak watched as the ship disappeared through a thick cloud bank before sheathing his blade. As his master had instructed him, he did not hit them with a full power attack; but rather a weak shot.

The General did not know what his master had planned, or why it entailed leaving his enemies alive; but even so it was none of his business. The masters plans were to be carried out even if he did not comprehend them. Still, Dark Oak mused to himself; if Metal Sonic's plans lead them downhill; then for the sake of the Federation he would have to, eventually say no.

_"Bravo General."_ Metal Sonic told him._ "Impressive show. Now, implement phase 2." _

_"At once Master."_

_

* * *

_

_-_"We're going down. WE ARE GOING DOWN!" Tails screamed, trying to control the disastrous plummet.

"Thank you captain obvious!" Sonic replied, suddenly filled with a feeling of Deja-vu. This was the second time he'd been trapped inside a falling ship. With Eggman helping him regain control of the helm, Tails pulled the Typhoon up from a plummet into controlled fall. Through the windows, they could see the clouds part and the ground some souring up to greet them.

"Bail out!" Eggman called up, gaining everyone's attention. "Radar shows incoming on our location, even if we land successfully we'll be a sitting duck for Metal X."

"Are you insane?" Sonic asked.

"He's right Sonic." Okida called over, already making for the exit. "Standard tactics in enemy territory. Those needed on board have to stay, the rest of you get to whatever you can pilot."

Down on the surface, Equinox watched the falling ship coming flying over his territory. Now an inhabitable world, Mars had four major regions and to these Metal Sonic had given control of one to each of them. Equinox was manager of the extensive swamp that covered a good deal of the southern continent. Over this, The blue Typhoon was falling. Calculating the trajectory, the Metal X General estimated the ship would fall a few miles away from his current position.

The air almost rippled as the ship shot overhead, smoke trailing out the back. Within moments it had disappeared behind a mountain range in the distance.

Okida hadn't waited to see if Sonic agreed with the plan, he simply tore his way down to the hanger and was almost instantly climbing into the cockpit of his Yahger Mech. To his surprise, Topaz was already there, strapping herself into the Raptor. The others, like Chris, Chuck and Sam made for the planes, all of them climbing into the X Tornado.

Reaching for a remote in his pocket as his Red Walker activated and it made it's way to it's feet, Okida aimed it directly towards a pair of shutter doors. With a loud groaning, they slide to one side. Outside the ground below them was flying past, the thick green canopy of a swamp heading out for miles.

Without a moments hesitation, Okida forced the Yahger Mech out into the air; falling towards the ground; the jets on the back of the walker slowing his decent. Even so, he came down hard through the trees. Topaz followed soon after, the Raptor she was piloting disappearing below the thick canopy.

Flying out through the doors next came the X-Tornado; Sam Speed at the controls with Chris and Chuck in the back, shooting away from the falling vessel as quickly as they could. The loud ringing of laser blasts rang out as blasts crossed the skies, large ground turrets belonging to Metal X opened fire as the Typhoon shot over, causing more damage to the hull before it soured out of range.

Tails stayed on board to keep it steady as it came crashing down. He had no intention for this to be a repeat of the Icarus. He was going to land this thing properly, even if it killed him. The only other people left onboard were Eggman, his two robots, Sonic, Amy, Cosmo and Knuckles who was down in the energy chamber trying to keep the flow of energy from the Master Emerald steady. All the others had, reluctantly, apart from Omega who was safely down in the hold taken flight. Metal X was already following them down, they couldn't afford to let them all get captured at this point.

Shadow had gone and without him, Sonic couldn't move an object of this size using Chaos Control. It was completely up to Tails' piloting skills now.

"This is it, we gain control of it now or we crash." Eggman began, throwing his hands over the controls at near light speed. With a loud bang, the secondary emergency thrusters kicked in and this extra boost forced the ship out of a crash land in the trees and finally over towards a high patch of sand just beyond the edge of the swamp. The landing wasn't perfect but Tails managed to put her down without snapping her in half.

The Typhoon scraped along the sand for a moment, before coming to a complete stop near a large collection of towering rocks that nearly eclipsed the ship.

* * *

The drop had not been kind on Okida's Mech. Going down through a thick canopy of super strong branches had scrapped the paintwork, forged dents in the armour and the furry dice on the rear view mirror had fallen off. The Major shook his head to try and clear his foggy vision, remembering where he was and what the situation entailed. The thick canopy the Yahger had dropped through proved sufficient to conceal them, and all the trees looked tall enough to hide him.

"Woah…" He muttered to himself, looking out at the new world around him. Under the thick canopy of the tall trees was an immense swamp. Most of the roots were half submerged in a high level of stagnant water and thick vines hung from above. Thin rays of daylight sank through the leaves above and where the shafts fell, a multitude of plant life had gathered, stretching upwards towards the hidden sky.

Remembering that Metal X would not be far behind him, the Major ran a quick diagnostic on his Mech. Apart from a few bumps and scraps, everything was perfectly operational.

Moving the large legs of the machine through the thick waters below proved a little difficult, but eventually Okida managed to get it moving; picking it's feet above the surface for as long as possible. His first objective was clear. He was in enemy territory and most of the crew had had to bail out of their ship as they came down. He had to find as many as he could and then find the Typhoon before Metal X did.

He had not gone far, when he came across the shambled form of the Raptor Mech Topaz had been piloting. Coming down, it had damaged one of its legs and looked in no fit state for a fight. Topaz was sitting in the cockpit with the glass screen up when he arrived.

"Well this is a bad start to a mission." She remarked as the Yahger neared and Okida's own Cockpit flipped open.

"You Ok?" The vampire bat asked. Topaz just nodded. "What about the others, do you know where they are?"

"You're the only one I've seen since the bail out." Okida glanced briefly down at his radar. It was showed a lot of signatures littered about. Most of them were moving in grids over the canopy above them. They were obviously Metal X scouts searching for those that had bailed out. "My weapons are still online, but with this leg I'll be a sitting duck in combat." Topaz added, gesturing to the battered leg on the Raptors left hand side.

"Then we'll just have to avoid combat." The trees looked big enough to conceal their presence and they were low enough to avoid detection by Radar. As long as they didn't kick up a ruckus, avoiding any search party would be a piece of cake. At least, that was the theory.

Topaz eventually got the Raptor to stand on its own two feet and then they set off, their progress slowed by the condition of the Mech. The idea of simply leaving it behind and having Topaz join him here in the Yahger passed briefly through Okida's mind but he quickly abandoned it. They were going to need the Raptor at some point and would have to leave nothing behind to tell search parties that they'd been there. Besides, there was no room in the cockpit for her. She'd have had to sit on his lap. An impish thought passed through his mind and he cleared his throat, banishing it.

When they were forced to escape the falling Typhoon, Okida had taken a quick glance at the direction in which it was heading. If his judgement was correct, the ship would have gone down a little further to the west. Their first priority would be to confirm the ships condition. Then they could go looking for the others.

All the while, the radar blipped red as robots belonging to the Machine Federation passed overhead.

"I suppose this is your element?" Topaz asked over a quiet intercom, keeping the frequency low so it wouldn't be overheard by their pursuers. "Enemy territory, crashed ship, Mech Battles, certainty of death?"

"True." Okida remarked back. "But for some reason I'd rather be somewhere else right now." Like back on Earth in a warm cosy bed with a cappuccino in one hand and a piece of toast in the other; instead he found himself trying to hide from killer robots on another planet in the midst of a stinking swamp land.

* * *

Now with the Typhoon down, Tail's next order of business was to set up their defences. If his hunch was right, hostiles would be inbound on their position very soon. With some of the weapons offline, their own defence was camouflage, throwing a switch Eggman activated another of his pipe dream systems. A revolutionary piece of holographic technology that spun a shield of light around the Typhoon, causing it to disappear from sight. The downed ship shimmered like it was caught in a summer heat, before vanishing. Any marks it had made in the ground as it came down, also disappeared from sight.

Tails held his breath as he watched two Metal X scouts pass by, then sighed in relief as they carried on without even stopping to investigate.

"We should try to contact the others." Sonic began, reaching for the controls.

"Are you mad!" Eggman declared, slapping his head away from the com device. "We're in enemy territory, and Metal X'll be monitoring the broadcast frequencies. We send any message at all and they'll know where we are and be on top of us before we knew what's happening."

"We can't just leave them out there at Metal Sonic's mercy!" Sonic argued back, clenching a fist.

"You won't be able to help them if Metal X blows us into horrible disfigured pieces."

"So what, we sit around here and let Metal Sonic do that to the others!"

"Look, we can settle this later." Tails stated, butting in. "Right now, we have to get the Typhoon out of sight. The hologram hiding us won't fool them forever." He turned towards Eggman. "Can you get us back in the air?"

"The engines took a little damage, give me an hour and I can have them back online." Was the scientists reply as he pulled up a technical readout of the ship. Once he'd checked the reports for any damage, he rose from his chair. "You two, with me." he grunted to his two hence-bots and they quickly followed him out of the room.

"Are the security camera's still working?" Sonic asked almost casually. Tails just nodded. "Good, keep an eye on him while he works."

"You still don't trust him?" Sonic levelled his eyes. "Right…of course not." Cosmo stood looking out through the large window at the wilderness around. She wished her visions could be more precise, perhaps then she might have been able to warn the others. Seers were supposed to be able to predict the future, an entire House of the MaginaryWorld had been devoted to the art. Perhaps it would have been best if the vision had gone to more of the more talented seers instead of her, admittedly a novice at best.

She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking like that. The vision had come to her and only her for a reason. No, she had had the vision so she had to be here. The question of why would be revealed in time.

_"Attention fugitives!" A_ voice suddenly barked from the com device. Everyone on the bridge instantly went silent. _"This is Equinox, leader of the Metal X ground forces. I order you to surrender at once and hand yourselves in. We know you are hiding somewhere in this region and we will find you eventually, so save us the trouble and give up."_

* * *

-

Flip Card 1:

Name: Dark Oak

Description: The first of the Metal X generals, and by the far the strongest.


	30. Episode 15, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc)

Flip card 2:

Name: Bark

Species: Polar Bear

Description: A member of the G.U.N freelance division and best friends with Bean and Hare.

* * *

In their escape, the trio of Bean, Bark and Hare had not been as lucky as the others. Taking the Icarus from the cargo bay of the Typhoon, the three of them had almost come under instant attack as Metal X attack drones noticed their fleeing vessel. Bark was struggling to keep the ship in the air, after a couple of lucky shots took out their starboard engine. Smoke and fire was bellow out the side of the ship as steadily began a decent towards the ground. Flying as hard and as fast as they could, they had already cleared the forest and had reached the coast of an ocean, it was near Bark slammed the controlled violently to the side and threw the Icarus into a ninety degree turn towards a long ridge of cliffs to the south.

Following close behind them were a swarm of at least twenty Metal X drones, flying robotic planes resembling stealth bombers, all painted bright royal blue. As soon as they had the craft back in their cross heirs, they opened fire again, a thick stream of green laser fire lancing through the air. Several struck the Icarus across the hull, tearing a gaping hole in the underside.

"Can't this rust bucket go any faster?" Bean asked, feeling the craft lurch violently to one side.

"No!" Bark replied, now fighting a loosing battle trying to keep the ship in the air. This ship might have been useful as a scout or civilian ship, but as a front line vessel it lacked the fire power and the defence to be of any usage. They would have taken the X tornado to escape in, but the Thorndykes had already beaten them to it.

Hare was sitting in the back, watching out through the porthole windows as the swarm that was following them began to close the distance. Each of them was trying their very best to knock them out of the sky and so far they were doing very well. Out the windows on the other side, Hare could see the smoke bellow out the back of the engine.

"This ship can get into orbit right?" He asked looked apprehensive.

"Not with an engine on fire it can't." Bark replied, before suddenly freezing, staring in utter disbelief at the control panel. "And it's out of gas!"

"What!" Bean declared, staring at the dial that represented how much fuel was left in the engines, now nearly flat horizontal, Evidentially, Tails had forgotten to top it off before leaving Earth. Stuttering and with nothing left to power it, the only working engine began to decrease in output and the ship slowly slowed down.

"Oh that can not be good." Hare muttered to himself as he watched the drones outside catch up with them.

Bark vigorously began flipping switches and pressing buttons, but nothing he did could help. At the last second, he tapped into a fuel reserve on the bottom of the ship and the engine roared to life as slowly by surely they began to pull away.

"You can stop praying now; we're going to be fine." Bean remarked back towards Hare, who was whispered into cupped hands. Opening one eye, the mobian rabbit locked around to make sure he wasn't dead before sighing with relief and wiping the sweat of his forehead.

"Hold the phone…" Bark added, his eyes going wide with worry as a dark shadow fell over them. Bean looked back to see some colossal vessel pass overhead, but it wasn't large enough to be Metal Sonic's behemoth, but long enough to make theirs seem like an insect. Mechanical bat like wings lanced out either side, along segmented tail flying out behind. Once it had flown overhead, a long neck with a lizard like head curved around to star directly at them from the front. Standing on top of this robotic dragon's head was another of the Metal X generals; basically humanoid with knight like armour and dragon likes wings. It was the Lancelot, leader of the Metal X air force. Slowly, he raised one hand, before dropping it suddenly back to his side.

The dragon opened its mouth and instantly, a ball of light began gathering inside the teeth, lightning dancing up and down its jaws.

"Oh for crying out load!" Hare managed to exclaim before a beam of energy shot through the distance between them, forcing Bark to pull violently back on the controls. The Icarus did an about turn and flew straight into the swarm of attack robots following them.

A drone came up on their left hand side, one large red optic eye studying the craft for a moment before a turret on its underside rotated around and landed several good hits with its laser blasts, taking out the remaining working engine.

At that final point, the Icarus had nothing keeping it in the air. With one sudden lurch, it began plummeting towards the ground. The drones came to a sudden stop as the ship collided with the soft earth below, skidded for a moment before colliding head first into a large outcrop of rocks with an explosion tearing out it's back.

Normally, they would have assumed that all the occupants had been killed; by their sensors had detected three escape pods escaping from the vehicle before it went down. As the drones were members of the air force, under General Lancelot's command, they had no jurisdiction on the ground and their general gave them no orders to pursue. Instead, on his personal craft, he turned back and flew on.

In this situation, all they could do was provide reconnaissance and let the nearest General and his own troops deal with the problem.

The nearest general was one who was sure not to let them get away, Equinox himself.

It had been a very good thing Tails had decided to include escape vehicles onboard the new Icarus. They had saved their lives. The pods were oval shaped containers that floated gently to the ground using parachutes. Inside, there was barley enough room to move; which in the end didn't really matter as when each pod hit the ground the doors leading itself sprang open and they were bundled out into the dirt.

They had landed on the desolate coast of an ocean, the ground rising up suddenly a short distance away and a little further beyond the thick rows of trees began. The sand was a pale white and strangely, the water which they expected to be royal blue appeared faintly purple. None of them had long to admire the scenery however, before any of them could react; another of the Metal X machines marched out from the trees, a colossal mechanical spider clad in blue armour and with several rows of blood red optics staring down at them. Standing on the top of its back, in between the joints of all eight legs was about robot. It had a centaur appearance, yet instead of a horse underside it had eight legs and an abdomen. Instead of wearing royal blue armour, the plating covering its arms and all eight legs was a pale orange. This was Equinox, leader of the Machine Federation's ground forces.

With a loud clicking sound, two turrets on the underside of the larger spider's mouth shot around and locked onto them. All three of them froze in their tracks, sweat running down the sides of their faces.

There was a stunned silence, before Hare tried to make a break for it. He came to a halt when he found another two giant spiders standing on either side, blocking their only ways of escape. They only way left unguarded now lead directly into the sea. With one sudden thrust, the smaller general leap off the top of his clan robot and came down directly in front of Bark. Even through Equinox was by far not as big as his clan members; he dwarfed all three of them.

"Alright." Bark began, slowly putting his hands up. "I know when to quit." Bean growled and drop the explosion he had ready to throw, putting his hands up as wlel. Hare looked around desperately for a way out of this situation, anything that might give them the opportunity to escape. He found now. Scowling with clenched teeth, he put his hands up as well.

Rouge watched from the safety of the trees as Equinox, the Metal X general took all three of them into custody; locking their arms and legs in restraints and loading them into a storage compartment on the back of one of his clan robots. There was nothing she could do for them now. She was outnumbered and outgunned. She would be able to do more for them by organising a rescue mission once she rejoined the others, providing that they also hadn't be captured that it. The bat had also been inside the Icarus, but had bailed out long before it went down; when the drones had started shooting at them. Now she was trapped between the rock and a hard place.

She was alone on a plant she knew nothing about, separated from her allies in enemy territory and hunted for by robots with the intent to cause her grievous bodily harm.

Someone, she had to find a way back to the Typhoon's landing sight and soon. It was probably the safest place on this entire planet.

Opening her wings, she darted back through the trees, just avoiding detection by a passing Machine Federation drone.

* * *

- 

Shadow paused for a moment to survey the lay of the land from his vantage point. Most of the ground was rocky on the cliff side he had arrived on. A little further away down the slopes the tall trees began, their forest covering the expanses of a swamp. From here, he could see the swarms of air bond robots sweeping the area systematically for the others. Having bee the first to leave the Typhoon he had had the opportunity to watch it go down and knew exactly where it was. Tails had brought it down to a controlled landing a little further along the ridge.

Still, he would not proceed there directly. He could not bring his pursuerright to it.

From the moment he arrived he instantly knew that he was being followed and he knew who by to.

Tikal, as always was by his side. Staring out at the never ending expanse of wilderness, she looked like she was trying to find the others by just looking out for them. Not that she was having much more luck than Shadow himself was having. He would have much preferred it now if she had not come with him. She was just putting herself in harms way. She knew they were being followed as well and while she did not know how useful she could be, she would not abandon Shadow to an ambush. In silence, the two of them travelled down towards the forest. The odds of loosing their pursuer in there were slim at best, but it was their best shot.

Teleporting through Chaos control to the forests edge, Shadow paused long enough for Tikal to catch up to him and long enough to catch a glimpse of who was following them.

Standing on the cliff face where he had been a few minutes ago was Dark Oak, the first of the Metal X generals and the strongest of Metal Sonic's servants. Tikal noticed Shadow staring past her and looked back herself, seeing the tall robotic solider stand there with his arms crossed, staring down at them with his one large green eye.

Shadow took her by the hand and quickly lead her into the forest, vanishing in the darkness its gigantic canopy created. Dark Oak stared after them for a moment, before tensing his legs and leaping into the air; hovering on an output of Chaos energy, flying through the air after them.

Sliding through the immense tree trunks, Shadow let Tikal hang onto his shoulders and he started staking, staying above the thick lay of scum water below. Casting glances over his shoulder, he found he couldn't see the following General; but knew full well he was nearby.

Looking forward again, he slammed his foot forward just in time to see Dark Oak hovering in front of him; floating there with his arms crossed. Growling, Shadow cut to the side through two trees, disappearing through the undergrowth. Again Dark Oak remained silent, before flying after them with surprising speed.

No matter which way they turned, the general followed them. Whenever they stopped he was there waiting for them. It was as if he knew where they were going to go before they did, like he knew their path down to the last detail.

Eventually Shadow decided that running would never work in this situation. Slamming on the brakes, he and Tikal came to a stop in a small raised clearing just beyond the swamp; a thin shaft of light coming down through a gape in the canopy. The hissing of snakes was loud in the air. At the base of the hillock that rose of the swamp were two large crocodiles, Earth kind, tending to a small nest.

Putting the female Echidna down, he turned back the way he'd come expecting to find Dark Oak waiting. All that he found instead was utter silence, only the thick trees, undergrowth and swamp life was there to greet up. Hearing a sharp intake of air from behind him, Shadow ducked under a swing as Dark Oak's sword cut through the air.

Tikal was shoved violently to the side by the Metal X general and he charged at the black hedgehog. Shadow dodged around the swings of his sword, before somersaulting backwards and slamming a kick into his opponents chin, almost sending him toppling backwards.

"Little bit of warning." Shadow began, jabbing a finger towards Dark Oak. "I'm not in a good mood today, so back off." The general of Metal X remained silent, raising his curved scimitar like blade. "Last chance pal."

_"No, it's your last chance."_ Was the reply. _"You're last chance to surrender before I beat you and your companion to bloody lumps of flesh and bone." _Dark Oak swung again, the tip of his blade striking Shadow down the left hand side of his face. Flinching backwards, Shadow held a glove up to the injury; the blood staining the fabric. It wasn't a deep wound and he could heal it no problem, but it still stung._ "My orders are to take you alive. In how many pieces can only be determined by you."_ The general added; his feet off the ground as he hovered there.

Shadow remained still for a moment, faking an injury; before swinging both arms forward and firing a Chaos Spear at point blank range directly into Dark Oak's chest plate. Thrown through the air, the Metal X general rebounded off the side of a tree before rapidly descending to the ground; his cloak burned right off his shoulders.

"Just another robot." Shadow remarked callously, assuming a fighting stance. Dark Oak began chuckled as he kneeled there. The black and red hedgehog paused as the general righted him, with no apart damage down to his frame despite the attack.

_"__Just another robot?" _He repeated sounding amused, grasping his blade in both hands, raising the sword high in the air. _"Is that what you honestly think I am?" Shadow narrowed his eyes. He was up to something. "Why do you think I'm called Dark Oak?"_ Without a moments hesitation, the first general of Metal X forced his power down the length of the blade, the serrated metal gleaming bright green for an instant, bolts of golden lightening lancing down into the ground. Shadow looked down just in time to see the root of some giant planet could tearing up through the soil underneath him, entangled vines seizing his limbs. He struggled against them, but found his own strength far too limited to break the bounds. Tikal tried to rush into help him, but nearly instantly more rots shot out of the ground slamming themselves into her, sending her flying through the air and into the side of a rock; knocking her unconscious.

"Tikal!" Shadow called over, now desperately trying to free himself. He looked back as Dark Oak hovered over him with his arms crossed, his sword still in one hand.

_"With the use of Chaos Energy, I can control lesser forms of organic life; such as plants."_ He explained; his single eye glowing blood red._ "I find them clumsy tools at best, lacking the elegant touch of metal but they get the job done."_ Growling, Shadow clenched his fists and sparks of chaos energy began dancing along each arm. Finally with one sudden burst of power, the black and red hedgehog broke his bonds and the sheer force sent Dark Oak crashing into the ground.

Now free, Shadow rocketed toward landing a punch against the startled General, before smashing a wild succession of kicks against his stomach. Forced backwards, his heals dragging in the dirt; Dark Oak directed his hands towards the ground and more vines and roots lanced out of the ground towards the charging hedgehog. Dodging around most of them, Shadow burned those that got too close with a Chaos spear before spinning towards the General himself.

"You're finished!" He declared, drawing a fist back ready to strike. Dark Oak laughed and caught the punch in his free land, before using the other to draw his sword. Somersaulting up in mid air, Shadow narrowly avoided getting slashed across the stomach.

_"You really think you can defeat me here?"_ Dark Oak asked and suddenly the trees around them began to shiver as some force took control of their forms._ "This entire forest is a weapon, under my complete control!"_ Vines, roots and even branches were in the air instantly in their hundreds, sweeping Shadow off his feet before he had a chance to put up a decent fight. With one sudden thrust, they flung him against the side of a tree; vines pinning his arms and legs to the bark; holding him in place. Thick branches bending over his body, keeping him in that one place no matter now hard he struggled.

In that same instant, the plants picked up the unconscious Tikal and left her at the same level as Shadow on another tree.

"Damn it." The black and red hedgehog cursed, focusing all his strength on freeing his right arm. The more he fought back, the more the vines attempts to confine him increased. They were matching his strength almost perfectly, no matter how much he tried to exert himself.

_"Ready to surrender?"_ Dark Oak asked from below, sheathing his blade._ "Your abilities using Chaos Control can quickly be copied once the Master has had an opportunity to study you. So to that end, he'd like for me to take you alive."_ The glow in his one eyes increased. _"Personally, I'd much prefer to gut you right here and now."_

"Not a chance in hell." Shadow replied, spitting at him. Dark Oak clenched a fist and the restraints around the black hedgehog's body began to constrict, forcing all the air out of his lungs, squeezing him to death like an anaconda. Grunting in pain, Shadow tried to blot it out. Involuntary tears forming at the edge of his eyes.

_"Sure you won't like to revise that reply?"_ Dark Oak asked, tightening his fist and in unison the vines and branches constricted even more.

"No, I think its good enough." Was the defiant answer as Shadow struggled for air. Dark Oak remained silent for a moment.

_"Ultimate life-form."_ The general stated quietly. "_You think that title impress us? You're still an organic form of life, weak, defective, imperfect and useless."_ Dark Oak turned his back on him. "_It's a miracle your kind survived long enough to give birth to artificial intelligence."_

The general stated quietly. Dark Oak turned his back on him. 

"Oh you're Metal Sonic's creation alright. You even sound like him." Dark Oak whirled around, the glow from his eye blinding Shadow.

_"You dare insult the Master?"_ With a sickening twist, Shadow's constraints cut off his air supply, a vine wrapping itself around his neck. Gagging, he tried to free his arms to rip it off. His strength fading, the black hedgehog could do little to help himself as is vision blurred and he blacked out.

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

Divided and being conquered! Shadow lost against Dark Oak! Okida and Topaz lost in the wilderness and the Thorndykes are still out there! Can Sonic defeat Equinox, the leader of the Metal X ground forces? Find out next time on Sonic X, Wrath of the Spider. Don't miss it!


	31. Episode 16

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 16: Wrath of the Spider

* * *

Luckily, the Thorndykes had had more luck evading Metal X than the others. Of course, that did not mean that their journey was without its own problems. Using the X tornado's speed they had managed to clear the forest area and had rocketed north and despite Sam's piloting had collided right into a blizzard on the frontier of the ice that swept across most of the northern hemisphere. With the winds blowing at near typhoon conditions, Sam had been forced to land in the snow. There they would be forced to wait the storm out before they could go on. Actually, Chuck mused, this delay might give them time to think about what they were going to do. Finding a large bank of snow, Sam had set the plane down there and quickly all three of them had gotten to work constructed a make shift shelter out of water they could fine, branches that had been flown in from the forest not to far away or even parts of the X Tornado; although Sam made certain that when the time came he could put it back together quickly enough. 

Chris had gone to try and see if could contact the others on the radio in the plane, but Chuck, had warned him against it as it might alert Metal X as to their location. Now, with nothing else to do but wait out the storm so the three of them were left stranded in the snow.

"Well…" Chuck began after a few minutes of sitting around doing nothing but listen to the gales outside. "Charades?" Sam looked up at him with levelled eyes as if to ask if that was a joke.

"I can't take just sitting here doing nothing." Chris admitted, hugging his legs to himself trying keep warm in their make shift igloo. "For all we know, Metal X could have captured them all by now."

"I know." Sam replied. "But there's little we can do for them now. Our best hope right now is to wait until either they come to us, or 'till the storm clears up."

"Or…" Chuck added ominously. "Until Metal X robots find us instead." Prof. Thorndyke never made any attempt at humouring. He went for the facts since his philosophy was that people should be told the straight truth, even if sometime they didn't want to hear it.

Almost as if it were on cue, the ice underneath them began to crack. Looking out, Chris watched as a short distance away the ice fell inwards and a large black metal object began rising from the trapped water underneath; the top of a submarine; with the Metal X emblem painted on the side. The sub didn't look like any they'd ever seen through. It was shark shaped and mostly black underneath blue armoured chest pieces. It was only when a large red eye rose above the surface of the ice that they even realized that in fact; it wasn't a submarine but an entire robot. Thos gigantic thing was the largest of the Metal X generals in terms if size, Leviathan; leader of the Navy Clan.

After his defeat by Sonic, he had been nearly constantly updating himself with technology given to him by Metal Sonic. Now he considered himself one of the most powerful generals in Metal X, maybe even stronger than Dark Oak himself.

_"Attention: You are now officially prisoners of the Navy Clan."_ A large booming voice announced coming off a pair of loud speakers near the front of the robot. _"Surrender at once or you will be destroyed."_ But by the time the sentence had been finished, Sam and the others where already half way to the X tornado. Even without the safety of the glass cockpit, the plane could still fly. The blizzard was still blowing around them, but that couldn't be helped right now. As they were climbing into their seats, several laser shots rang out from the turrets mounted on the top of the sub like robot, one lucky shot striking Chuck in the shoulder. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he hauled himself into the X tornado and the plane took off, Sam desperately trying to keep its flight path stable in the whirling snow around them.

Leviathan's turrets changed direction and opened fire as the plane as it soured overhead, coming dangerously close to striking it.

"Grandpa, are you ok!" Chris asked, seeing the blood begin to stain the white jacket he wore.

"I'm fine." He lied, reaching for the first aid kit underneath the seat in front of him. In fact, his shoulder hurt like hell, but he would not admit that to his grandson. Right now, there were more important things than a single wound right now; like getting out of here alive.

Curving the flight path of the plane around in an arch, Sam managed to avoid getting the X tornado riddled with laser fire. Those turrets lining the back of that giant robot were pretty good shots, some had come dangerously close to hitting their underside. And the howling winds and snow around them, it was becoming increasingly difficult to pilot.

Desperately throwing the controls to the right, Sam caused the plane head in bee line in another direction, flying in defiance of the screaming snow storm. Leviathan however was not about to let them get away without one hell of a fight. One each side of the giant robot, two colossal mechanical arms unfolded from the bottom of the hull and lanced out, helping Leviathan to pull his large head above the waters surface. Now at this vantage point; his weight supported on the ice; the third general of Metal X opened up a giant mouth, revealing the barrel of a laser beam cannon inside; the tip glinting brightly in the semi light. A load humming began to vibrate through the air as a steady glow began to gather between his teeth, the cannon culminating energy.

"I hate to be a back seat driver…" Chuck announced looking back as Leviathan reared his head back, electric like sparks lancing down his giant body. "But this may be a good time for evasive manoeuvres!" Sam looked back at the last second and in that same instant; Leviathan threw his head forward; an incredible powerful green laser beam rocketing forward with a sonic boom. Slamming his weight down on the controls, Sam forced the X tornado into a violent ascend. But it was far too late to avoid complete damage; the scorching attack ripping the lower set of the wings on the Tornado completely off. Without that to help guide them through the rough weather conditions and even with Sam doing everything he could to keep them going; their plane was sent into a dive.

"She's done for now!" Sam declared, still trying to maintain whatever control on the decent he still had. "I'm going to try and put her down as far away from here as I can, after that we start running."

Leviathan watched from the surface as the plane vanished into a cloud bank. His sensors tried to follow its flight path, but it proved far too difficult in the extreme weather conditions. Not even the satellites in orbit around Mars seemed able to track it after his inquiry. Still, they would probably come down within his jurisdiction; so until they officially passed into the territory of another General they were still his prey.

Quickly he retracted his arms and he fell back into the water underneath the ice. Since he was leader of the Machine Federation Navy, he was in his element in the water. Diving below the ice, he became a dark shape under the frozen surface, slowly following the last course of the plane north.

Despite Sam's best efforts, the X tornado came down roughly about a mile away from where they encountered Leviathan. With a sudden thrust, the tip of the plane sank into the snow and nearly tipped over. As it slid through the white, Sam helped the other two bail out. They had no time to waste. Metal X would be on their way here; their only chance of escape was to make a run for it.

"Chuck, you ok?" Sam asked, seeing the hastily bandaged wound in his shoulder.

"Don't worry about me." Chuck replied as the S-Team leader helped him along with Chris in the lead. Covering their eyes as best they could against the snow, the three of them were now forced into defiance of the howling wind.

All the while, the colossal form of Leviathan was creeping up on them from behind.

Finally, the found a point where the land reared up off the ice and up towards what looked like a stable plateau. The monstrous machine following them looked pretty much water bound, so this might be a good way of escaping it. Quickly they began an ascent up, the wind seemingly doing it's best to slow them down.

Chris looked back when he heard the ice cracking and watched as the front half of Leviathan broke through into the air again; the front turrets rotating around to lock onto them. Grimacing, he hurried his uncle and grandfather upwards.

Laser shots began ringing out; thankfully however the rough weather threw off the machine's tracking sensors off by several degrees and Leviathan would it very difficult to get a lock.

Reaching the top of the rise, the three of them found a small forest there; evergreen trees with their tops nearly coated in snow. They could hide in there for a good long time. Which was just as well, because looking back they could see Leviathan was letting troops of his main body and they were following their trail up.

By the time Leviathan's clan robots reached the top, the ones they had been tracking had disappeared. However, they left clues as to which direction they had headed. Foot prints in the snow lead off towards the left.

Following the tracks, they quickly disappeared in a white haze.

"Are they gone?" Chris asked from his hiding place in the trees. Sam's ploy to lead them away with a false trail had worked perfectly. The robots were now following a trail that ended a short distance away. Sliding down to the ground, Sam helped Chuck back to his feet.

"Come on, it won't take them long to figure out what happened." Sam replied, leading them all quickly in the opposite direction.

* * *

- 

The hour Eggman promised he could get the blue Typhoon up into the air again had been slowly ticking by and by the last few minutes the engines still no signs of coming back online. All the while, Metal X's search party was systematically searching this area for their downed ship. It would only be so long before they discovered their location.

"Ok that's it." Sonic began with his patience; which in his defence had lasted far long than it usually did, elapsing.

"Sonic, hold on a second." Tails called after him realizing that when Sonic's patience ran out he often went and did something foolish and rash.

But by the time he'd called out it was too late, the blue hedgehog had already disappeared out the door.

Leaving the ship, but staying within the protective camouflage of the holographic display; Sonic paused just long enough to get a first hand view of the new Martian landscape. Having not been on Earth long enough to full appreciate how barren it had been for the past millennia, Sonic felt like he was looking at Mobius. Everything seemed like his home world so much, for a moment he was almost convinced that he had stepped back in time to before the two worlds joined into one. The sky was a different colour and the presence of two moons made him slightly nervous, but apart from that it was almost an exact reflection.

Still, right now there was no time for reminiscing. Right now he had a job to do. Sonic looked up as two Metal X drones pasted overhead, again missing them entirely thanks to the camouflage. Still searching for them? Well, the blue hedgehog thought it was about time to reward their efforts.

He remained there just long enough to stretch his muscles, before racing forward his leg a complete blur. As soon as he left the protection of the camouflage, the drones whirled around to see race past; his energy signature now standing out against their radar.

"Come on, follow the leader…" Sonic muttered under his breath, racing on with the two flying robots following close behind him.

"Has he lost his mind?" Knuckles asked from the energy chamber once Tails announced that Sonic had decided to go for a run.

"No, in fact he's gone and done us a big favour." Eggman replied, his face appearing in a holographic display on the join conversation from three points on the ship. "Don't you two see what's he's going?" The fat scientist asked, leading both Tails' and Knuckles' puzzled expressions. "Look, he's leading them away from our position. He's a division, trying to buy enough time to get back in the air." Finally the penny dropped and realization crossed both their faces.

"But he's attracting every Metal X drone in the area." Tails reported, looking across at the still operational Ship's radar.

"How many?" Cosmo asked, looking up towards the young fox, whose frown began to deepen as more red blips began appearing on his face.

"Over thirty, and more are coming." Eggman put a fore finger and thumb to his chin, looking thoughtful.

"That may be more then he can handle."

_"Then let me fight."_ A new voice stated. Looking both, but Tails and Cosmo saw another holo-message appear just above Eggman's. It was Omega.

Using whatever he could to help provide cover, Sonic speed on as far from the landing sight of the Blue Typhoon as possible and, his plan working fine; every one of those robots searching for them were following him. As long as he kept them from heading back to their search, then he could get them the time they needed. Besides, this was pretty fun.

Grinning insanely, he dodged between the streams of laser fire as he shot through deep ridges and the undergrowth between giant trees. When he least expected it, the leg of some gigantic metal construction came slamming down in his path and he ran right into it. Staggering back with a broken nose, the blue hedgehog looked up as another of those giant spiders he'd fought in San-Francisco clambered down to the top of a large cliff face. This one seemed a new an improved version, with more armour on each of the eight legs and a nasty looking large turret on its back. What caught Sonic's immediate attention was the smaller robot standing on its head. It looked like a centaur, but with a spider's body instead of a horse's. The humanoid half of it was coated in orange, knight like armour. A pair of yellow eyes stared out at him through between a gap in a visor. The helmet around it's head had a pair of horns angled forward.

"Oh, you can't be very popular with people with arachnophobia." Sonic remarked with a grin, wiping the blood away from his nose; before dodging another leg as it came slamming down.

_"I am Equinox, leader of the Machine Federation ground forces."_ The robot announced, letting one hand trail out to his right. Something at his back twitched and a pike flew into his waiting fingers, the blade on the end curved almost like a scimitar.

"Great, now I've had the pleasure of meeting all Metal's generals. Metal's got to be one proud daddy." Sonic remarked sarcastically, crossing his arms.

_"That tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble some day."_ Equinox remarked, his spider mount, forcing two large legs through the gap in the ravine._ "Maybe I should do you a favour and cut it out?"_ Sonic forged another grin.

"I thought you guys were under orders to let Metal take a shot at me first?" The blue hedgehog asked, speeding up the side of a ridge to avoid a stream of bullets that rocketed off the spider's turret. Reaching the top of the cliff, Sonic readied himself in fighting stance, with a thud that shook the ground; the spider retracted itself back up the cliff. The blue hedgehog watched Equinox rise up high on his mount before the metal insect towered over him completely.

"_There are those of us who think that the Master's vendetta against you is clouding his judgement." _The Metal X general explained, tapping the blunt end of his pike against the head of his spider. _"Once you are out of the way, he'll start focusing on what's best for the Machine Federation." _Equinox was risking a lot confronting Sonic, against his masters orders; but he was not the only one who felt that Metal Sonic was focusing too much of his attention on the blue hedgehog. Leviathan and even Dark Oak were silently questioning the reasoning behind Metal Sonic's need for vengeance.

"Really, I'm flattered. Going to all this trouble over little ol' me." Without a single moment's hesitation, Sonic shot forward and crashed a spin attack straight between the spider's jaws; where he knew from his past experience with them lay the weak spot. Almost forced of the side of the cliff, the spider scuttled around the side of the blue hedgehog; jabbing at him with its front legs. Weakening the armour enough, Sonic cupped his hands and prepared to deliver a Sonic wind straight through. Equinox however had other ideas; leaping down from the top of the spider he tried to slice the blue hedgehog right down the middle.

Somersaulting backwards, Sonic landed on the ground; his heals digging into the dirt until he came to stop. The giant spider shook off the after effects of the attack before joining Equinox's side. "Hey, tag team's not fair." Sonic protested with a mock pained expression.

_"And what makes you think I'm interested in playing fair?"_ The robotic general asked flatly, before gesturing towards the blue hedgehog with the end of his pike. _"Sick'um boy."_ With a loud screech, the spider strode over the general and charged against at Sonic.

"Boy these things aren't very smart." The blue hedgehog said to himself, pausing until the last moment before running to the side. To much momentum throwing its weight forward it couldn't stop itself from running straight off the edge of the cliff and into the ravine below. Sonic turned back toward Equinox with a satisfied grin on his face as the ground shook when it hit the bottom. The general's demeanour was, as ever, completely unreadable. "Gee, I guess they just don't build them like they used to."

_"Correct."_ Equinox agreed, tilting his head forward his yellow eye glaring. _"They build them far better nowadays."_ Sonic blinked in surprise at the remark, before something hit him hard in the back; sending him flying through the side and into the side of a tree, knocking it over.

Hauling itself back over the edge, Equinox's spider hardly had any scratched on it from the fall. The only evidence that even suggested it had taken a tumble was the dirt covering its armour. The blue hedgehog rubbed the back of his head as he stood up. That had been one painful wallop.

"Ok, the kids gloves are coming off." He growled to himself, shaking the bits of wood and bark out of his quills.

From his previous fight with over three of these gigantic insects, he knew for a fact that they were no invincible. He and Knuckles had managed to take down one each already. He knew the face part of the machine was vulnerable to attack, and so was the pint between all its eight legs. Right now however, that Metal X general was an unknown factor.

Having meet all of Metal Sonic's boys, first Lancelot; then Leviathan, thirdly Dark Oak and now this one; Sonic knew exactly how dangerous they were. Each one was at least twice as strong as any of the robots they commanded.

Running forward, Sonic leapt over a stream of bullets from the spider before coming down violently on its back; looking to the side at the last second he saw Equinox swing his pike around. The blue hedgehog had barley come into contact with the spider's armoured back before he bounced away from avoid the slash. Pausing in mid air for a single moment, Sonic caused some momentum before launching a spin attack, not at the spider but at the General himself.

Caught by surprise at this change in strategy, Equinox left himself open to attack; an attach which hit him head on and sent him sprawling across the ground and finally colliding into the side of large rock.

The spider swung its leg around, trying to hit Sonic as landed; but Sonic ducked at the land second before speeding out of range of a second attack. Equinox rose back to all eight feet, each hand grasped tightly around his pike.

He swung several times, trying to run the blue hedgehog through. Dodging through the swipes, Sonic leapt up and drew his leg back; before landing one of his strongest kick against Equinox's face. The General staggered back on all eight legs, before smashing the blunt end of his pike into Sonic' stomach and as he gagged out; used the momentum of his own thrust to swing Sonic around. At one precise moment he let Sonic go flying through the air.

Tumbling lifelessly, the blue hedgehog hit and the ground and began rolling until he reached the edge of the cliff where he stopped. Wasting no time, Equinox swung his pike down and impeded the blade tip in the ground, levering off some of the dirt and letting Sonic fall down into the deep ravine.

Scuttling over, he went to see how big an impact Sonic's body would make when it hit the bottom. Looking over the edge, he left himself wide open as Sonic came flying up with a punch and sent Equinox flying head over heals and into the side of his own spider, the two of them falling into the trees; knocking several over with a loud crash.

Holding his hands up, Sonic gathered his energy before throwing his arms forward; the twisting vortex of the Sonic wind tearing through the air. Equinox barley had enough time to put up a decent defence.

Throwing his pike out in front of himself like a protective barrier, a thin blue shield forming over his body. As the attack hit, he was forced backwards; all eight heals scrapping against the ground. His giant robotic spider however did not have the defence needed and caught the full extent of the attack. Lifting clear off its feet, thick shreds of its armour were torn from its body before it was dumped violently over the side of the cliff and into the ravine.

As the ground shook from its impact, Sonic lowered his arms; finding it hard to catch his breath. Shadow made using energy attacks look easy, it was actually quite tiring. Equinox's eyes was glaring bright yellow as he dropped out of his defence and brought his pike up quickly; nearly slicing Sonic along the stomach with it. Sliding backwards, the blue hedgehog shot to the side trying to catch him of guard.

Anticipating the movement, Equinox curved around to match the hedgehog's movement, continually slicing away trying to hit him.

Jumping over the swings, Sonic came across one last time landing the strongest flying kick he could muster against Equinox's head. Rebounding off the side of a rock, he came back again with another kick. Then he rebounded again and stuck with a punch. Several times more he passed by, landing the strongest blows he could manage against the Metal X general. When he finally stopped, he was more out of breath then he could ever remember being in his life.

Turning, he backed off in dismay to see the leader of the Machine Federation's ground clan, apparently unharmed. He just stood there with both hands on his pike, eyes glowing bright yellow.

"Just what the hell are you guys made of?" He asked, hoisting himself to his feet; his knees almost groaning in reluctance.

_"Technology from the stars."_ Equinox replied, twisting his pike around in both hands. Sonic stood ready to fight again when two missiles rang out, passing through the trees before exploding; knocking the weapon out of the Metal X general's hands.

_"New target acquired."_ A voice stated. Sonic looked up as a large shape came lumbering out of the undergrowth. A bulky frame, with two large red eyes and armour. The arms were long and shaped like barrels, a rim of spikes on the wrists. E123: Omega stamped a fist down, the gust blowing out the smoke caused by the explosion and revealing his full form; complete with the G.U.N emblem painted on the left hand side of his chest plate

_"Ah, you must be that E100 prototype the Master told us about."_ Equinox began, turning to face the new entry._"Codename, Omega, I believe."_ He trailed a hand out and nearly instantly his pike returned to his hand.

Equinox began, turning to face the new entry. He trailed a hand out and nearly instantly his pike returned to his hand. 

_"Designate stated: Equinox; General of Metal X machine Federation's ground forces."_ Omega replied._ "Termination proceeding."_

"Hey back off man, you don't know how much punishment this guy can take." Sonic warned him, but instead of heeding the advice, Omega spread his arms out wide; talons at the ready before charging at full speed.

* * *

**Flip card 1:**

**Name: **Omega

**Description:** Last of the E100 series, the prototype of the battle android line.


	32. Episode 16, part 2

Flip card 2:

Name: Equinox

Age: A month

Species: Robot

Description: The last of Metal Sonic's general's and the weakest of the four.

* * *

- 

With missiles flying from launch compartments on his arms, Omega went in for the kill. Each projectile struck Equinox hard, but didn't seem to be doing any damage. The armour covering his insect-like body held in up and the last few missiles the General simply batted away with his pike. Omega spread his arms, out talons arching ready to slash. Coming around the side of the general, E123 cut across one of his legs legs. Equinox had been expecting the armour on the leg to hold up, but to his utter dismay; Omega's claws sank deep through the metal; nearly carving his entire limb off. Staggering backwards, one of his front legs nearly hanging off; Equinox swung his entire torso around trying to impale the blade edge of his pike straight through Omega's chest plate.

Despite being large, Omega was anything but slow. Dodging around the swipe, he turned and aimed another missile; this one striking the wound he had given Equinox a minute ago. Now weakened, the limb was blown clear off with a spray of molten metal and charred fragments.

_"__I'll make you pay for that, you obsolete model!"_ Equinox accounted, his eyes glowing bright yellow. He tucked the ruined stump of his ruined leg underneath his body and ran forward on his remaining seven legs.

Before he could reach Omega through, Sonic went flying in with a kick that sent the general flying sideways and into the side of a tree.

"Omega, you weaken his armour; and I'll take care of the rest." The blue hedgehog told the battle android as the spider like General of the Machine Federation hoisted himself backup.

_"__Affirmative."_ Omega replied, before converting his legs from walking mode to mobile mode; the stumpy limbs retracting into the body and a set of tank like treads taking their place. The jet engine on his back flared to life, propelling him across the distance between himself and the leader of the Metal X ground forces. Equinox turned and repeatedly swiped away at the incoming robot. Now in mobile mode, Omega was fast enough to race around it all; before he went in hard and fast, clawed fingers already outreached. Equinox tried to reverse away, but E123 was too fast. Before he could stop him, Omega's talons sank deep into his armour, before wrenching forward; tearing a huge chuck off of his chest.

Sonic wasted no time. He started spinning on the spot, going faster and faster; gaining as much friction was he possible could before rocketing forward with a loud sonic boom. Equinox tried to get out of the way but by now it was already too late. Sonic tore through him like a cannon ball, shooting through his weakened armour and flying out the back in a giant spray of fragmented metal shards.

Equinox convulsed violently, before the glow from his golden yellow eyes died away and he collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

"Well…" Sonic began, dusting his hands. "That wasn't so hard." Suddenly, with a loud humming of reactivating systems; the Metal X General's eyes snapped on and like someone rising from the grave; the spider like robot rose to his feet. Both omega and Sonic were left stunned, Equinox still had a gapping hole in him; they could both see right through his chest to the trees behind him, but he was up as if it was nothing at all.

_"You really thought it would be that simple to defeat one of Lord Metal Sonic's elite?"_ The General asked flatly, the glow from his eyes changing from yellow to a blood red. Slowly, he removed his helmet to show the machinery inside. Placed directly where he brain should be was the Red Chaos Emerald; glowing brightly and wrapped in wires and cables; all feeding its energy down into the robot itself.

Equinox began to chuckle as the red glow increased dramatically and chaos energy began washing over his entire body; the hole in his chest growing smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely. Then his leg re-grew out of the stump, providing him with all ten limbs again. The blade of his pike rippled and gained a serrated edge. With a sudden flush of colour, his armour changed from orange to a blood scarlet.

"Why is it never easy?" Sonic asked. Just once he'd like to save the world without having to nearly kill himself to do it, just once. Several hidden compartments inside Equinox's body that hadn't been there before opened up and the tips of missiles protruded from the darkness.

_"Incoming!"_ Omega exclaimed; pushing the blue hedgehog out of the way as at least two dozen projectiles came flying through the air. Sonic looked up in horror as each and every one smashed hard into the battle androids' body, engulfing his form in afire and smoke; hiding him from sight.

"Omega!" There was a loud thud as the charred form was sent toppling backwards to the ground, large holes torn in his red armour and the G.U.N emblem on his chest nearly burnt off. His eyes were still red, showing that his systems were still active; although his body itself was in no condition to move.

_"Any last requests?"_ Equinox asked, replacing his helmet back over his head. Sonic stood up, his back to the robot; before he slowly turned around. His green eyes alight with more of the usual humour he was so famous for.

"You bad guys are all the same. All talk." He announced, assuming a new fighting stance. "Are you going to fight or what?" Equinox simply growled, before swinging his pike forward in front of himself; the blade aimed directly at the blue hedgehog.

How that he'd tapped into the power of the Chaos Emerald he had been given by Metal Sonic, The Metal X General's strength and speed was greatly augmented. Not only that, but his armour seemed to take twice as much punishment as it had before.

Keeping the fight as far away from Omega as possible, Sonic went on the offence, sliding through the vicious swipes Equinox made with his pike before trying to pry open the armour. E123 had already shown him that while the armour plating covering the General's body was super stronger, the machine inside was pretty fragile. All he really needed to do pry it open enough to fire a Sonic wind inside; but instantly he realized that Equinox had installed a good detail of that ancient technology onto himself when a thick force shield formed itself over the spider like robot's front, forcing the blue hedgehog to back off to a safe distance.

Turning, Equinox fired another barrage of missiles straight at his target. Sonic turned and ran, trying to out distance them. He growled when he looked back and discovered that they were smart bombs; when he turned they followed him. Turning back, Sonic charged straight back towards Equinox; who swung his pike down ready to fight. Just as Sonic came within swiping distance, he ducked under the swing and leapt high up into the air. Equinox exclaimed and staggered backwards as his own missiles acted too late in trying to follow their intended target and hit him square in the face instead.

Landing back on the ground, Sonic cupped his hands and gathered as much energy and he could spare; before shooting back around and firing a Sonic Wind at the Metal X General while he had his back turned. The attack hit with full force, ripping Equinox from the ground and sending him crashing through the undergrowth between the trees before disappearing completely with a loud crunching sound that echoed across the area following after him.

Breathing heavily, Sonic sighed and sat down on the ground. A good deal of sweat was running down the sides of his head. His ears pricked up when he heard a twig snapping underfoot and only managed to dodge Equinox's pike as it went flying out of nowhere, thrown like a javelin. The blue hedgehog looked back as it impacted into the ground nearby.

"Man…what do I have to do….to make you take…a hint?" He asked out of breath as Equinox clambered out of the darkness like a colossal insect, despite having the regenerative power of a Chaos Emerald backing him; the General's armour and scratched deeply in a few places. Hissing, Sonic forcing himself to his feet; his quills and blue fur a completely mess and a nasty bruise developing on the side of his head.

"Need a hand blue boy?" A familiar voice asked. Sonic looked up as a white blur came down from the sky as Equinox charged forward; the tip of a boot smashing itself into the General's head. Equinox backed away; a large hole torn in the side of his helmet.

Rouge spread her wings and descended to stand a little in front of the blue hedgehog.

"This guys one tough nut to crack." Sonic replied; stretching his arms out until something cracked.

"What, a robot even the mighty Sonic the Hedgehog can't stop?" The female bat asked coyly.

"I'm not kidding here." Sonic retorted. "Omega and I threw everything we had at him, but he just regenerated using that Chaos Emerald inside his head." Rouge cast a glance over towards the battered body of the E123 and then towards Equinox himself and the red glow leaking out the cracks running through his helmet.

"Think you can get his helmet off?" She asked back towards him. Sonic nodded, before pausing to dust himself off. Then when Equinox was least expecting it, the blue hedgehog raced forward; sweeping past the robots defences and throwing himself at the head. Batting him away with the blunt end of his pike, Equinox slammed the blue hedgehog repeatedly into the ground before tossing him back up into the air. Looking up, the general opened up every missile compartment on his body and prepared to fire.

Flipping up in mid air, Sonic curved himself into a ball and started spinning. He remained hovering high up for a second, before rocketing downwards. Equinox fired, and every missile he had left screamed towards the spinning blue hedgehog. The spinning motion protected Sonic from the individual blasts and before Equinox could stop him, Sonic smashed down on top of his head, shattering his helmet into pieces.

_"ENOUGH!"_ The General declared, forcing a thick force field around his body; throwing Sonic off. His metal arm trailed out and his pike tugged itself out of the ground and returned to him._ "For the glory of the Machine Federation, you must all die!"_ He added, turning to swipe away at Sonic.

Omega found just enough energy to lifted his right arm an in that instant, fired several missiles straight at the Metal X general. Focusing on Sonic, Equinox left himself open and caught the full burnt of it.

Seeing him distracted, Rouge went flying in; drawing her leg back and gathering strength before smashing one of her most powerful kicks straight into the General's head. With a sickening twist, she decapitated him; the metal head containing the Chaos Emerald sent rolling across the ground.

But that wasn't the end of it. The body just keep on moving without the head, turning to smash a super strong punch straight into Rouge's body, sending her crashing to the ground.

Sonic shot over to the severed head and wrenched the Red Chaos Emerald free from it, its glow steadily increasing as now he had in his hands. He could already feel its power replenishing his own and with a sudden snap, he turned and shot back towards the red of Equinox; his quills with a faint yellow tinge to them. Focusing all his strength into one attack; Sonic tore through the Torso of the general once again, his spin attack severing the torso from the insect like legs.

_"Long live METAL X!"_ This time, without any Emerald to regenerate himself' Equinox was finished. Sonic had pierced the generator inside his body causing fatal reaction. The spider like body convulsed several times before collapsing to the ground. An instant later, beams of light began lancing out of it; energy bolts dancing over the outside before with a boom that shook the ground it exploded in a firestorm.

* * *

- 

With a reluctant roar, the engine of the Blue Typhoon finally came back online and many of the controls in Tails console lit back up. Knuckles was still down in the energy chamber and with his help, the correct flow of energy from the Master Emerald had been managed and without that overpowering flow; the conduits supplying power to the whole of the ship didn't short out. The output on the engines buzzing like crazy, the ship began to lift off of the ground. The holographic display that kept it hidden from radar and the searching Machine Federation drones stayed on, constantly adapting to what was around it; like a chameleon whose coloured changed depending on what it was sitting on. The red Chaos Emerald that they brought back had been added to the others down with the Master Emerald, but even with that boast the movements of the ship seemed a little sluggish.

Big had wandered out of the room Tails had put him in and was now standing next to Cosmo, looking out towards the new wilderness around.

"Oh pretty." He remarked, holding his frog up. "See Froggy? See all the pretty colours?" The amphibian simply puffed its cheeks out.

"Rippit." The frog replied, before slipping out of Big's hands and hopping down his arm to nestle itself in the thick fur on his shoulder.

"Right, time to take her up." The Doctor began, sitting down at the main console panel.

"What about the others?" Sonic asked once he and Rouge had hauled Omega's heavy body back to the Typhoon

"Forget 'um." Eggman replied with a moment of hesitation; now busy rushing over the controls. "Right now we've more important things to do, like getting out of here. This ship's a slug as it is." Sonic slapped his hand down hard, gaining his old Nemesis' instant attention.

"Maybe we need to lighten the load." The tips of Eggman's moustache began to curl in anger, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "We leave here with everyone with came with, or we don't leave at all." Eggman had no sway for argument on the ship and the decision to hunt for the others was unanimous.

It's sensors still sweeping outwards, the Blue Typhoon began to slowly move away from the Metal X drones; keeping outside a safe distance in case one of them should try to penetrate the disguise that made them appear like a patch of sky or at other times like a cloud.

Cosmo stood as usual staring out at the main window down towards the ground. Tails looked up, finally noticing that she had not said anything in the last couple of hours. Flipping a switch, he transferred the controls to Eggman, who gladly accepted them; but was kept from taking them out of Mars' Atmosphere by Sonic standing over his shoulder, occasionally snapping his knuckles to emphasize what would happen if Eggman did anything stupid.

"Hey." Tails began, joining her side. Cosmo looked up and smiled briefly. "A penny for your thoughts?" The green haired girl sighed.

"I'm here because of what the visions showed me." She began looking up at the sky. "But at first, I wasn't sure what help I could be if I didn't know what they meant." All Tails could do right now was listen. "I'm sure though, that I alone was sent the images for some reason. I was supposed to come here. I just haven't discovered what for yet."

"More of that destiny stuff?" The young fox asked. Like Sonic, he shared the opinion that nothing was set in stone; that nothing was predetermined.

"We all have a destiny." Cosmo replied. "All of us are here on this journey because we are supposed to do something important." She then turned to face him. "What those something's are can't often be accurately predicted, not until the moment itself." Tails was silent. He would be lying if he said he understood half of that, but it had had some deep meaning that he managed to salvage. Destiny was something Cosmo' people took very seriously. Their belief was everything and everyone had one predestined path, but as to how those paths were lived was always up to the decision of the individual. It occurred to Tails that despite how closely their lives had become with the visitors from Maginaryworld, he himself knew very little about them.

He knew they were dimensional travellers and that their home reality was created from the sentient thoughts of all the beings in the others. Apart from that, he knew nothing of their culture.

Cosmo was looking down at the terraformed surface of Mars with a smile on her face. Now here was a chance to learn some much about them. It was the driving ambition that made him such a good engineer, the one true passion that Tails held was a lust for learning.

"Well, four down three to go." Knuckles stated with a short grin, looking up at the red Chaos Emerald now placed with the other three and the Master in the centre of the Energy Chamber.

"Now don't loose that." Rouge began with a coy smile, her wings folded around her arms. "It took a bit to get my hands on it." Knuckles laughed under his breath, putting his hands on his hips.

"Sonic was the one who brought it in."

"I helped."

"So did Omega.

"I did most of the work."

"Yeah? Well Omega's the one who needed a new coat of paint." The two of them stared at each other angrily, before Knuckles forced some laughter down and before the two of them knew it, they were collapsing over each other in fits of laughter.

"I thought we weren't going to argue anymore." Rouge began, sitting down on the metal steps leading up the Master Emerald's pedestal.

"Where's the fun in that?" The red Echidna asked, sitting down next to her.

"Fun?" Rouge asked back sceptically. "I didn't think you knew what that way." Knuckles levelled his eyes.

"Ha Ha." He muttered flatly. "Friends argue Rouge, besides with you it's funny." Rouge forged her own smirk. "Friends?" The red Echidna began, holding up his own fist.

"More like blood brothers, Knucklehead." She replied, batting her own fist against his.

"Brothers?"

"Siblings then."

* * *

- 

Metal Sonic was not pleased. He had entrusted that Chaos Emerald to Equinox to help him with the experiments, yet instead he choose to defy orders and engage Sonic himself. The outcome was obvious. The only thing that kept his temper from boiling over were the prizes his first general had been able to snag. With glare red eyes and looked over the large green stasis tube he was keeping Shadow in. The black and red hedgehog floated there in a form of suspended animation, his nose and mouth covered by an oxygen mask with a pipe that lead up the mesh of devices above. Bubbles were constantly floating up to the surface of the green liquid. Normally, prisoners would be kept in simple cells down in the Behemoth's brig. But Shadow was no ordinary prisoner. This way, they could keep him from waking up and interfering. Plus Metal Sonic now had the unique opportunity to study him. If Chaos control could be synthesised, his forces could be near invincible on the battlefield.

On top of him, Dark Oak had been able to gather another four prisoners from Sonic's party. All of them Mobians, they were presently being taken down to the brig for containment. Metal Sonic thought it a good idea not to kill them just yet. They might come in handy later on.

Turning away from tube, Metal Sonic watched as holographic display appeared in front of him; his faithful first general was reporting in.

_"Interrogation, I am sorry to report, has revealed little else then we already know." _Dark Oak admitted. He was standing in a corridor with a row of cells on either side. Standing nearby, his ragged fur and drooping ears was Hare. Blood was leaking out the side of his mouth. Dark Oak had asked him questions regarding the specifications of their craft and how to detect it. When he didn't answer, they beat him. Throughout it all, even the kicks and punches, he had said nothing.

_"__That won't matter."_ Metal Sonic replied flatly._ "Keep them alive for now; they may prove useful later on during our campaigns."_

"The only thing we'll ever help you do…" Hare began, looking up weekly; blood running out the side of his mouth. One of his eyes had been beaten black and bruises were partly hidden underneath the fur. "Is write your epitaph."

_"__You'll speak when spoken to."_ Dark Oak reminded him, lifting the mobian rabbit up by his bandana, before tossing him roughly into an open cell. Hare collided with the back wall before falling limply to the floor. Nearly instantly the bars slammed shut after him, leaving Hare alone.

Tikal was in the cell opposite, hugging her knees to herself. Someone onboard the Behemoth, some kind of technology was preventing her from teleporting away; and Chaos seemed unable to come to her assistance either. She was trapped her, just like the rest of them. Her thoughts however were not on her own safety, or on that of those in the cells around her. Instead she found herself wondering what they had done to Shadow.

She had been here long enough to realize that they had all walked right into a trap. Metal Sonic lured them here to this planet offering them his Chaos emeralds as a prize. Travelling here, they had brought the Emeralds they had with them. If Metal Sonic found the Typhoon, not only would he capture the rest of their crew; but the Chaos Emeralds as well.

* * *

(In Chris' Voice)

The adventures really off on Mars! But how are things going back on Earth? With Chaotix still hunting Fang the Sniper, Cream and her Mom looking for the Last Chaos Emerald and Hexagon setting up a new global defence grid, anything could happen! Find out what happens next time on Sonic X: The cross heirs of the Sniper! Don't miss it!


	33. Episode 17

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 17: The cross heirs of the Sniper

* * *

Narration: While battles rage on Mars, events equally as important are happening back on Earth. Chaotix still hunts for the elusive Fang the Sniper, while Cream and her mom search for the last Chaos Emerald.

All the while, Hexagon, a mysterious global profit organisation has seized financial control of G.U.N…

* * *

The west side of town, especially the abandoned buildings on the piers were prone to gathers by the less than law abiding. Vector pulled his trench boat collars higher around his face as he approached the guarded entrance to the large underground auction being held inside an abandoned warehouse. A large human with a wrench as a weapon stood guard, a hired thud paid to keep those who didn't have any business being there away.

Recent political events had made Chaotix' search for Fang the sniper, or Nack the Weasel as they knew him; infinitely harder. Hexagon, a large multi-billion dollar corporation had been given the go ahead to start building a new defence force to deal with the multiple threats that seemed to be springing up left and right. At the same time, emergency restrictions had been placed on the media, (supposedly for the need for security.). So any report of the infamous Sniper passed Chaotix by.

Gaining entrance was not too difficult. All Vector had to do to make the guard let him past was learn the password. Sticking close by for half an hour, the crocodile heard some shady characters that entered whisper the phrase: Evade the Pigs before the large man stepped aside. Vector grimaced. A lot of crocks he and the rest of Chaotix ended up dealing with were a little crude.

"Evade the Pigs." He muttered to the man, not looking him in the eyes before quickly hurrying past him to get inside. Pretending to be one of the low lives, even for a moment, had left a bad taste in his mouth.

The auction was arranged just like any other, with what lay available at the scene already. The roof was rotted and a few of the ceiling rafters had fallen in. There was also holes in the floor, some large enough to stare down to the Hudson River below. The crowd inside was quite expansive. Aside from petty crocks, there were also a lot of representatives for people who preferred to distance themselves publicly from these sordid gatherings.

A mobian chicken stood as the auctioneer and was currently hearing bids for an expensive looking jewel. Probably something one of them had stolen from a jewellery store. Giving it a second glance, Vector could see scratch marks where it had been hurriedly ripped out of the gold pendant it had once come in.

"Sold, for five grand." The chicken announced suddenly, tapping a make shift hammer down on the surface in front of him. One of the humans nearby rubbed his hands eagerly, his eyes alight with greed. Vector had the strongest of temptations to simply beat the information out of them all, but he could see that at least have of them were armed; and heavily. He'd never get the opportunity to throw a punch, and as disappointing as it was; he knew he'd have to play it safe for now. He melted into the crowd and sat as quietly as he could watch the proceedings, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, which admittedly was not one of his strong points. "Next up for auction we have this." Two other humans had laid a large piece of complex looking machinery down on a flat surface for all to see. It was clearly military in origin and someone had done a lousy job of pealing away the G.U.N logo from its surface. It was part of a military Walker Mech, a device used in the weapons targeting systems. Vector looked up at it intently. This could be part of the equipment Fang stole from the military base. "Starting bid, five hundred dollars." Several people gave gestures to show their interest. "Five hundred, five hundred ten, five hundred twenty, five hundred fifty…I do I have five hundred fifty. Yes, five hundred ninety, Six hundred." As the bidding went on, Vector edged his way closer to the front to get a closer look at the thing.

It certainly matched the description on the lift Espio had given him, but that was not what drew his attention at once. Attending the auction, actually **_attending_** it was Fang himself! The purple Weasel was standing at the far edge of the platform, watching with a mixture of glee and greed as the proposed price for his latest acquisition kept rising. Vector could not believe his luck. Fang himself, right here, right now!

"Sold, three grand." The auctioneer finished and Fang looked up, his sudden expression turning from a satisfied smile to a startled glare.

"YOU!" He cried, sighting Vector. Snarling, he tore a gun from its holster and fired a shot straight at him. All the others around started swearing and hit the deck. Vector managed to dodge it, ducking down below the level of some of the objects around. Finally Fang's piece ran out of ammo and he was forced to re-sheath it, but that did not leave him defenceless. "Boys…" He declared to the two mobians on either side, members of his Sharpshooters gang. "Ice him!" They nodded and reached for their own weapons. Vector however had other ideas. Like a fish through water, he shot towards them and smashed their guns out of their hands with his tail before flooring one of them with a solid punch to the chin. By now, everyone else had reached for their weapon and an instant later it was a mad shoot out. Chaos reigned as no one was able to tell exactly who they were shooting at in the confusion. Vector however never managed to loose sight of his objective. Kicking another of Fang's cronies over with a tail swat, he turned and advanced over to the Weasel himself. Fang smiled sadistically and tore a large serrated knife out from his belt. Vector backed off as the Weasel swung forward, tearing the edge of his trench coat.

"You're going down Nack!" Vector declared, addressing the Weasel by his real name before tackling him to the ground. The rotted floor of the pier warehouse gave way and the two of them were sent crashing down into the river water below. Fighting the water, Vector had the advantage. His reptilian body could twist and turn here in way Fang's could never hope to and he used that agility to swim his way around the lunges the weasel made with his knife.

"None of you bastards ever die easy do you?" Fang demanded through clenched teeth, his purple fur completely drenched. At the last second however, he scoured a lucky shot across Vector's arm, nicking the crocodile with the tip of his knife. Blood began leaking out into the water and Vector backed off, now in quite a bit of pain.

"Hey boss!" A voice called out as a speedboat pulled up beside them, another member of Nack's Sharpshooter Gang reached down to lift their leader up from the water.

"Give me your Piece!" The Weasel demanded before he was handed a gun. Turning savagely Fang was halfway to pulling the trigger before he was aiming at Vector's head.

Acting on instinct, Vector dived below the water and seconds later bullets began flying past him in the water, some sinking through his already ruined trench coat. Fang unloaded a full cartridge into the water, but all he could see was the black trail of blood left by the Crocodile. He couldn't even be sure if he hit him or not. There was a loud crackle of thunder and it began to rain heavily. Forcing his breathing to slow down, Fang slumped back in his seat and tossed the empty gun back to its previous owner. It seems Chaotix were more determined to hunt him down than he had given them credit for. It was time to end this little run-around once and for all.

As the boat sped away and the loud blaring of police sirens began to fill the air, Vector pulled himself roughly up the docks of some concrete pillar some distance away. The cut on his left arm wasn't that bad, but it still hurt a lot. He was exhausted and the swim in the River hadn't been exactly beneficial. Luckily, he was used to the cold so a water logged pair of shoes would not do him much harm. Still, the cold was beginning to nip at him; and after picking up a band aid and something to clean himself up, a warm cup of Coffee went down very well.

"You let him get away!" Espio demanded angrily over Vector's mobile when he contacted the others to let them know exactly how close he had come to catching the Weasel. "I don't believe it. Now he's going to be that much harder to find again!" Vector had found himself a small corner café to rest in. The mean time however, to lessen his disappointment about Fang's near escape he ordered himself a cooked meal to go with his drink.

"Hey, give me a break here, he tried to gut me." Vector explained, gently tapping his band aid to remind him of exactly how close Fang had come to severing his arm; although he mind have been exaggerating his thoughts a bit. "How are you guys doing with Hexagon?" The crocodile asked, changing the subject. He could still hear Espio grumbling.

"Not a thing…officially." The chameleon replied, an ominous tint on the word 'officially'. Vector knew that whenever Espio spoke like that, it meant he'd been doing his Ninja thing.

"Out with it." The crocodile began flatly.

"We just got the Intel from Beck. He reports that several cases of fraud and theft have been brought against Hexagon in the last mouth alone. All the charges get dropped however as either the guys backing the cases either suddenly change their minds or important evidence goes missing."

"Go on." Vector added, his eyes alight with interest.

"Securities pretty tight around their main building, as you'd expect with them getting the defence contract and all, but I managed to…er…liberate a few files that may be of interest. Apparently, they did hire someone to steal from their competition. Won't be able to prove a thing until we find out whom." Vector grinned his infamous crocodile grin, frightening a small child at the table opposite as his teeth flashed in the light.

"I knew it." He proclaimed. "It's Fang alright. My intuition never lets me down. Keep at it Espio, see if you can pin his name to these guys."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't let him get away." Espio replied angrily, before disconnecting.

"Moody git." Vector muttered under his breath, tucking his mobile back into his glove. He sighed after a moment of thought. Espio had a right to be a little irritated, considering how long they'd been wanting to pay Fang the Sniper back for double crossing their group. He went to take a bite of his pie when a loud voice called over to him.

"Oh Vector, there you are!" The crocodile nearly put the end of his snout in his meal as Charmee bee came flying out from the large doors that marked the entrance.

"I thought you were supposed to be back at the office." Vector remarked as the young insect landed on his table, another of his childish grins spread all over his face.

"Another load of paperwork came in." Charmee replied. Vector hesitated.

"Ah…" There was no need to elaborate on that. If Fang hadn't started showing his nose again, they'd all be back at Agency headquarters signing official documents well into the night.

"Please let me hang around you for a while. I don't want to go back there, not with all those things that need signing." The bee pleaded, doing his now world renowned 'puppy dog eyes' expression.

"Fine, if you have to." Vector replied. In truth, he was pleased he could spare anyone the torture.

Charmee ended up eating most of the meal and eventually they left. It was still raining hard so Vector bought an umbrella from a vendor outside. Of course like everything else, the crocodile haggled for the price.

"Is it true Vector?" Charmee asked as they made their way through the busy crowds on Main Street.

"Is what true?" The crocodile asked, looking down at the young insect that hovered next to him; keeping himself under the umbrella so the rain could not ruin his wings.

"Espio said you were a big stupid moron who let a suspect get away." The bee replied innocently, Vector rolled his eyes and looked up towards the sky. "Well, are you a big stupid mor…"

"Do you like breathing?"

"Yes."

"Then don't complete that question." At that point, Charmee snapped his lips shut and looked away.

"Hey my wallet!" Someone across the road shouted. Looking over, Vector saw a young human male running away from another old human who'd been knocked down. In his gloved hands he had a leather wallet. Throwing on a very Super Man type persona in an almost instinctive reaction, Vector handed the Umbrella to Charmee and gave chase. The thief looked back, noticed he was being pursued by a humanoid crocodile with a set of sharp teeth and began running like he'd never run before.

He was cut short however when a metal came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, forcing him into the side of a building with a loud thud. Vector came to a stop as the youth dropped to the floor, the wallet falling out of his hand. The metal hand retracted from the dazed thief and returned to the wrist of its owner, the Black and Gold Robot Emerl who was standing nearby; hiding his identify with a very cliché trench coat and hat.

"Here you are sir." Vector announced, picking up the man's wallet and handing it to him as he ran up alongside. A passing squad car pulled up and a police officer stepped out to clear up the matter. Thanks to the new coat of paint as well as various other armour improvements, no people recognised the Gizoid that had run amok as the first Chaos Emerald Tournament. Even so, they had little reason to trust robots. Some ventured that it could be a new G.U.N peace keeping model and most of them left it at that.

"How about that Emerl, you're a hero." Cream began up to her robotic friend, who looked down at her with his large blue optics. Vector, who had given the officer a quick account of everything turned to face the robot, only to come face to face with the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. She was standing beside Cream and the robot. Like cream, she was a rabbit with faint orange fur and deep brown eyes. A short quaff of head fur hung over her face and her two large ears flopped back behind her head. It was Vanilla, the girls mother. She had once hired Chaotix to help track down her daughter after they got separated when Earth and Mobius had merged.

"Hello, Earth to Vector…" Charmee began; waving a hand in front of the crocodile's dazed and smitten expression. The bee followed his gaze. "Oh, Vector's in love, Vector's in love, Vector's in love…" He began singing, buzzing around the crocodile. A large hand shot out and took the insect from the air, holding him in front of a large mouth full of teeth. Hearing the noise, Vanilla glanced over in that direction. Noticing her scrutiny, Vector dropped Charmee like a hot potato before anyone could accuse him of mistreating his comrade.

"Oh Hello there Vector." The female rabbit began with a smile, noticing them finally. "You remember Vector don't you Cream?" The smaller rabbit grimaced, remembering her last encounter with the Crocodile when Chaotix had stormed the Thorndyke mansion under the mistaken belief that she was being held hostage there.

"Nice to meet you again Vanilla." Vector began, trying his best not to slang.

"Vector's in love, Vector's in love…" Charmee chanted under his breath, only to earn a stern teeth ridden glare from Vector.

"So what's new in your corner of the world?" Vector asked, his gaze still firmly locked on the effeminate beauty that was Vanilla Rabbit.

"Sonic gave us the job of finding the last Chaos Emerald." Cream replied, smugly holding up the Chaos Energy detector the blue hedgehog had given her after he left. It looked like an ordinary watch but with a small locator screen instead of a digital timer. It was emitting a small bleeping sound, showing that it had detected traces of Chaos Energy.

"We've not been having much luck so far." Vanilla admitted with a faint smile. "Chuck's device isn't very precise. It's been leading us around town all day." There was a sudden gleam in Vector's eyes that only Charmee managed to pick up.

"Then today is your lucky day." The crocodile proclaimed, putting his hands on his hips. "The expert skills of the Chaotix Detective Agency are at your disposal."

"But Vector…" Charmee protested quietly. "I thought we were supposed to be looking for Fang?" Vector simply shoved him aside with a large gloved hand.

"Oh thank you but don't worry, we can manage." Vanilla replied.

"No prob. I insist." Charmee began giggling again.

"Vector's in love, Vector's in love!"

* * *

-

Hexagon, now being the chief supplier of arms for the G.U.N military, had some of the most advanced security running through their main building than anyone else in the business world. Getting inside had been extremely difficult without being detected. Plus, as Hexagon was now officially G.U.N's chief supplier it also meant that if they ever got caught, they'd be put on a charge of treason.

"Anything?" The chameleon asked Rei, his travelling companion as the two of them stood before the towering sky scrapper. The building towered over most of the northern half of New York, the square like logo of the business slapped across the top. Standing inside the building grounds were four large Mech's; two outdated Big Foot Walkers and another two Raptors; all of them painted in a military green. They had already down some reconnaissance, showing them the entire building inside and out was monitors by an advanced security camera system, along with motion detectors, sound monitors and many laser grids on every level. These Hexagon guys were creating a whole new range of robots for the military, and it seemed that they were not taking any chances with potential thieves. Even with the stuff they had already managed to 'liberate' their knowledge of Hexagon's back door dealings was slim.

Rei looked up towards the tower for a moment, narrowed his eyes at it before shaking his head.

"No, sorry; don't see a thing." His unexplainable ability of precognition was not always as reliable as they would like. Often it came and went as it saw fit, so the others knew not to rely on it too much. Rei was a formidable detective, even without it.

"Fang's involved in this somehow, I know it." Espio muttered to himself as they both stared up at the almost impossible tall building. Well, they had done all they could here. Searching the entire building from basement to pent house was both impractical and impossible. It looked like they were going to go about this a new way. Of course Espio still had to think what that new way was. He contemplated going back to Swift to see what he knew, but in the end he decided that pointless. Even with his insight into the criminal underworld, Swift would not have the hard evidence they would need.

"Come on, let's hook up with Vector." Rei told him with a grin. Espio stared up towards the sky scrapper for a moment longer, before sighing and quickly following the flying squirrel.

Espio was lost in his own thoughts. This case was their big case to catch Fang the Sniper and bring him in. They had a score to settle with the Weasel and it was about time he paid up. Fang, or Nack as they'd called him back then had been a member of the agency; but had paid more attention to how much money they could get in a job than helping people; which as the main reason Vector set the agency up in the first place. On one of their biggest cases, Fang betrayed them to a dangerous crime lord. None of them would have escaped, if not for the sacrifice made by Mighty the Armadillo. That shot, fired by Fang himself still rang like a bell through Espio's mind.

His head shot up as that sound echoed through the air again, and acting on instinct; he threw himself forward and shoved Rei down onto the ground; pushing them both out of the way of a rifle shot. The people around them began exclaiming at the sudden disturbance. Glancing up towards the roof tops, Espio stopped dead when he saw how was standing there with a Sniper Rifle in his hands.

It was Fang, along with at least five member of his Sharpshooters Gang; all of them were armed with long range sniper rifles. With a flat emotionless expression, Fang reloaded and aimed directly at them.

"MOVE!" Espio exclaimed, showing them both into the door of a convenience store they'd been working past; shots ringing out as bullets hit the sidewalk. "He's mine!" The chameleon snarled, several shuriken appearing in his fingers; the deepest possible scowl on his face.

Rei called after him, but by now it was too late. Espio's physical form melted away as he turned invisible.

Fang knew fell well about Espio's abilities had come prepared for it. Reaching into the bag behind him, he withdrew a pair of infra-red goggles and put them on. His thugs all did the same and just in time, as Fang spotted a heat source advanced rapidly across the street towards them.

"Hey Esp, have Mighty send me his regards!" The weasel shouted down, before opening fire. Forced back against the side of a building; Espio tried to see where they were shooting from now. They kept changing positions on the rooftops so he found it very difficult to find his targets. All he needed to hit them was a single second, just enough time to get a single hit in with his Shuriken. He paused…his shuriken! He looked down at the metal throwing stars in his left hand.

Would that work? Espio looked up towards the sky and judged the level of sunlight. It was blaring, yet; he might actually be able to pull it off.

Fang staggered back as a metal object, a thing he recognised as one of Espio's ninja trinkets came spinning up into the air from the ground. It wasn't even aimed for them; it had just been thrown up into the sky. All his boys saw it too and stared at it in confusion.

Once it reached a certain height however, the suns light reflected off it like a solar flare; blinding all of them was intense flash of light.

Fang cursed loudly and covered his eyes. "Damn it, where is that bastard!"

"Right here." A voice beside him replied. Turning with a knife in his hands, Fang prepared to swinging but blinding by the light he left himself open to a succession of wild kicks of punches that knocked the weapons out of his hands and knocked him to the ground.

Espio stood over him, holding a ninja ball and chain with both hands. A true Ninja did not only use the darkness to conceal their presence, but the light as well.

"Get him!" One of the Sharpshooters yelled and Espio shot around and several automatic guns were raised towards him. Ducking, darting to the side; the chameleon cast his Ninja weapon and the end of the chain wrapped itself around one of the weapons, tearing it out of the user's hands. Controlling the weight and swing, Espio used it slam into the rest of them.

"After you, I'll waste the entire agency one by one." Fang proclaimed, tearing a gun out from a holster at his side. Before he could fire, something knocked it out of his hand. Snarling, he looked back to see Rei standing there armed with a lead pipe he'd picked up in an alley way.

Espio tore back to charge at the weasel, but at the last second; Fang back flipped off the edge of the building before latching on the fire escape.

"Get back here!" Espio yelled after him as the Weasel rapidly climbed down, readying himself

"I'll be back to get you!" The Weasel proclaimed, before dropping to the street and before either Espio or Rei could stop him; he tore the lid of a manhole cover and disappeared inside.

Almost in rage, the chameleon leapt after him but by the time he'd reached the Weasel's escape point; he had disappeared from sight.

"I almost had him." Espio complained angrily when he, Beck and Rei meet up with Vector and Charmee later at some outdoor restaurant overlooking the harbour. Vanilla, Cream, Cheese and Emerl had stopped there too for lunch. Espio and Rei had managed to slip away from the police who'd crowded into the area to avoid any lengthy interviews before coming here. Vector was still quite adamant about helping them track down the Chaos Emerald, even with Espio's incessant chatter about Fang.

"Ha, and you gave **ME** a hard tell for letting him escape." The crocodile exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Shut it." Espio remarked, leaning on his hands.

"You'll never guess what!" Charmee exclaimed, after helping himself to his third slice of cake; on Vanilla's account of course.

"What?" Beck asked

"Vector's fallen in…" The bee never finished the sentence as Vector clamped a hand over his mouth. Charmee suddenly bit him, forcing him to release his grip. "In love!"

The other three central members of Chaotix looked stunned, before staring at the crocodile; whom had quickly turned away from them all and sat with his back to them. "And with Vanilla too!" The bee added almost as if that last part wasn't the most important

"Did I hear that right?" Rei asked, looking suddenly stunned. "Vector's in love with a rabbit?" Charmee nodded enthusiastically. Espio, who'd been angrily munching on a snack nearly choked on it. All three of them stared over towards the crocodile, who even now sat gazing with admiration at Vanilla across the way where she stood helping her daughter to decipher the bleeping Chuck's device made.

"Please tell me this is some sort of joke?" Espio asked. The crocodile said nothing. He just sat there with a content smile over his scaly lips. "Vector, it's just not natural. She's a furry and you're a reptile."

"I don't care." He replied finally. "It's destiny we met." Espio slapped his forehead.

"It could never work." The chameleon warned him. All mobians, while they interacted with each other; never went as far as romantic relationships between species, especially between groups such as mammals and lizards.

"I don't know about that." Rei remarked almost causally. "I heard about a human and a mobian falling in love. Seems stranger than an inter-mobian relationship." Both Espio and Charmee looked back at the flying Squirrel with stunned expressions on their faces.

"Now I know you're making that up." The chameleon said flatly.

"No, I swear it's the god's honest truth."

"Can we get back to what's important?" Beck asked, leaning on the table. "Fang's out for blood; and it's our blood he wants. Anyone got a plan?"

"Everything's on hold until we help Cream get that Emerald." Vector replied flatly. Espio slapped his hands down on the table several times.

"Didn't you here me before? Fang wants to kill us!" He demanded.

"He'll just have to wait his turn." And that was that for Vector. He crossed his arms and sat there like a sulking child. Espio barred his teeth and began grinding them in anger.

"Vector's followed his Rabbit down a hole into Wonderland." Charmee laughed still stuffing his face

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Charmee Bee

Species: Honey Bee

Description: A member of Chaotix since his birth (Due to some fiasco Vector has long since forgotten about).


	34. Episode 17, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

* * *

Flip card 2: 

Name: Fang the Sniper

Species: Weasel

Description: Mercenary and thug for hire. Also the leader of the Sharpshooters gang.

* * *

"I want them dead!" Fang proclaimed to his entire SharpShooter Gang as they assembled in their headquarters, a condemned building on the east side of town. An empty warehouse not used in a good decade, it was the perfect shelter. In this neighbourhood, not many people; even the cops came around asking questions. The interior was a large empty space with high metal poles serving as rafters. A row of three large crates served as a stage, upon which Fang stood addressing the unorganised rabble he called troops. 

His gang, numbering about fifty in all were all mobians. Fang had distaste for humans and while they were not forbidden to join his little clan, his best thugs were all mobians. "Chaotix has been a thorn in my side for long enough! I want them iced!" The sharpshooters were not just a bunch of punks that took job for money. In their collection of impressive weaponry were quite a few pieces of military equipment, such as an old Big Foot Mech. All of it was stacked in large wooden crates behind the large crowd, ready to be broken out at the moments notice. "I don't care how many of their lackeys you get, as long as I see these three at least riddled with holes." The weasel added, gesturing behind him to a projected picture of Vector, Espio and even Charmee.

"Three dead guys. Got it." One large Mobian Tiger near the front replied, strapping a large sniper rifle with a strap over his shoulder.

"They'll be gone before the end of the day." Another, a Boar added, sliding a few large daggers in leather holsters that crisscrossed over his chest.

"Well what are you still doing standing here for?" The weasel asked, tipping the edge of his hat forward. "Go n' get them!" The chaotic squabble began as all fifty of them began arming themselves, one of them climbing into the outdated Mech and testing the controls. "And they'll be no reward until you do!" Fang added, before turning back to his own collection of weaponry. Everything a professional assassin could ever need in his profession. Several rifles, normal sets of guns, infra-red goggles, throwing knives and his latest acquisition; some experimental body armour Hexagon was developing for Swat police.

First Fang strapped on a pair of metallic shin pads, lapping them on over his boots. They gleamed brightly in the semi light, the Hexagon symbol on the front of each standing out perfectly. Then he slipped into a shirt with several pieces of armour attacked to the chest, stomach and shoulders. Completing the upper half of his body, he attached a pair of bracers; the one on the left arm had a small computer screen about the size of a watch face in it that had the ability to track energy signatures. Finally, the Weasel placed the infrared goggles over his eyes.

Ever since he had betrayed Chaotix they had been dogging him like a shadow, a near constant threat to his profits. Well, not for much longer; he through to himself; attaching a large rifle to his back and sliding from guns into a holster and each side.

Tonight, Fang the Sniper was going to finish this long drawn out feud.

* * *

- 

Despite Espio's protests, the Chaotix Detective Agency was reduced to an escort service for Cream, her Mother and the Robot Emerl. Each second wasted not going after Fang was like a needle sticking itself into the chameleon's skin. In thrall to Vector's strange infatuation for Vanilla, all they could do was indulge the crocodile until he grew out of it.

Espio was still shuddering at the thought. A reptile and a furry, it would never work. Crocodiles were supposed to involve themselves with other crocodiles. That's how the species and even the animal groups themselves were maintained. Humans had it easy. It didn't matter what nationality they where, they were all still compatible with one another.

"How long do we have to keep this up?" He asked the others. Following the directions of Cream's device, they had entered up in the Park. According to the readings, the Chaos Emerald they'd been looking for was not too far away from their current position. Rei and Beck sat lazily on a beech watching Vector lead Vanilla and Cream around as they searched through the bushes and trees, Emerl in tow. Charmee, giving into his natural instincts was buzzing from flower to flower getting his short black and yellow hairs covered in pollen.

Rei glanced down at his watch.

"Until Vector gets hungry, then we eat again." He replied with a goofy grin. Espio levelled his eyes at him sceptically.

"You need to relax more Espio, you're too wound up as it is." Beck added, leaning back against the bench putting his arms behind his head.

"I just can't believe we're stuck doing this when Fang's still out there." The chameleon replied, resting his arms on his knees.

"You really must want to get this guy." The human began, raising an eyebrow.

"Gee and I had Vector pinned as the obsessive one." Rei added and the two of them broke out laughing.

"You don't understand." Espio muttered, turning away. They were new recruits. Neither of them could understand the finality of it all when Nack, now called Fang revealed himself as a traitor and murdered another of their number before them.

"Hey, what about over here?" Vector asked, calling over to Cream who hurried over. The device on her wrist was bleeping like made as she neared. That Emerald had to be around here somewhere.

Finding a spot between two tall trees that looked promising, Cream pushed some shrubs out of the way, and there, half buried in the dirt at her feet was a dark blue surface. Taking her gloves off, the rabbit began digging with her fingers around it; revealing a multi angled shape. Getting her fingers around an edge, she tugged sharply at it; edging it further and further out of the dirt.

"It's here alright…" She muttered, tugging at it.

"Need a hand?" The crocodile asked, edging one of last hands in to get a good grip on the stuck object.

Then with one last tug, the last Chaos Emerald flew up into the air in a spray of grass blades and mud.

One of Emerl's hands shot out and grabbed the falling jewel, returning with it and the Emerald in its grasp to the robots side. "Ah, there we go." Vector muttered; admiring the fist sized treasure as Emerl held it up for all to admire.

"Thanks for your help Vector." Vanilla said with a smile, leaning over and kissing the crocodile on the cheek. Espio cringed as he watched the Crocodile nearly literally walk on air.

Emerl handed the Emerald to Cream, who grasped it in both hands with a big grin on her face. If she was honest, she didn't believe she would be able to find it. The others were the ones good at Emerald hunting not here. Boy would Sonic be proud of her once he got back.

There was a sudden loud whistle and without any warning at all, Emerl pushed Cream and her mother out of the way as a missile flew past them and stuck a tree; blowing it into smithereens. Espio was nearly instantly on his feet with several shuriken in one hand and a Katana in the other. The ground shook violently as a Mech came dropping down from the air, land on two large flat feet not to far away. It was an old Big Foot, clad in full military colours with two large missile launch pads on its shoulders open; revealing it had at least another seven missiles it could fire. Through the glass that shielded the cockpit, one of the thugs belonging to the Sharpshooters gang could be seen at the controls.

Like a thick mob, other members of the gang were already storming the park in ranks, marching right for Chaotix. Running for their lives, the people had already begun evacuating the place.

"Fang!" Espio began through clenched teeth as he sighted the Weasel standing on top of the Big Foot Walker, clad in body armour and armed with nearly every type of portable weapon available.

"You've dead now mates!" Fang the Sniper called down to them, a sadistic twist of a smile over his lips. "Now I finish the job I started with the armadillo!" Espio's expression deepened from a frown into a hate filled scowl.

"Run!" Vector told Vanilla and her daughter, positioning himself between them at the small army of hired mercenaries. "This is our fight, get going!" Vanilla tugged at Cream, who nearly dropped the Chaos Emerald and she and her mother made a retreat from the area as fast as they could; Emerl following behind them.

"Woah, heavy artily." Rei remarked almost casually as Chaotix was herded into a tight circle, almost completely surrounded by Fang's army of thugs. Beck swallowed hard, eying the circle of fire power around them. Charmee was in the middle, looking incredibly scared. Espio glanced back at him. How could Fang do this? The bee was only a kid!

"Hold off it guys!" Fang began; gesturing to his group to hold their fire. "I get first shot at these losers." He reached down and withdrew a gun from it's holster at his side. "I hope you recognise this piece Espio." The chameleon only raised a non existent eyebrow. "No? Shame, 'cause this is the same weapon I used to kill that friend of yours." Espio glanced up at it. It didn't have any distinguishing marks, but almost as if he could sense Mighty's sprit tethered to the weapon; he could tell it was the same gun.

"We can't just leave them!" Cream complained, wrenching free of her mother's grip with a sudden twist of her hand. "They're going to get killed!"

"You're not going back, it's too dangerous!" Vanilla told her. Cream remained defiant.

"I won't leave them there!" She replied, turning about and running. Emerl tried to grab her by she squirmed past his arms and kept running back towards the park.

"Cream! Get back here!" Her mother called after her, before giving chase, the black and robot following shortly afterwards. His programming was screaming red. His priority mission, to keep Cream out of harms way was in jeopardy.

Jumping into the air, a small jet engine emerged from a slot on his back and sent him flying forwards, easily catching up with the female rabbit and pulling her back away from the hazard zone.

"They're going to die in there!" Cream cried, trying to keep going despite the restrictions of Emerl's metal arms. Vanilla didn't want them to die either; Vector was one of her best friends. But she wasn't about to let her seven year old daughter go charging off to fight some heavily armed mercenaries.

"Emerl…" The rabbit began. The black and gold robot looked up towards her. "You go help them." Although he never said anything, as if almost instinctively she could sense his reluctance. He was Cream's guardian, his programming was telling him to keep her safe at all costs.

"Please Emerl." Cream pleaded with him. Despite the fact his programming was telling him utterly different, The Gizoid felt compelled to obey. Trying to explain this logically as all robots would, Cream's friends were part of her life. If one died, she would be damaged psychologically and damage was the thing his mission prohibited the most.

"Say goodbye!" Fang snarled, raising the gun towards Espio; his finger itching around the trigger.

There was a sudden flush, and a metal fist came flying out of nowhere to impact the side of the Big Foot Mech. The force of the long range punch sent the Walker staggering to the side and crashing into a tree. Fang foot his footing and fell roughly to the ground, hitting his side on the Mech as he went down. As it struck the ground, the Mech's cockpit shattered open and the thug acting a pilot was thrown out and into a bush.

Stunning, the Sharpshooters looked around to see where that shot had come from. Before any of them could react; Emerl came flying through the trees to smash a kick into several of their number at once.

Seizing the opportunity, Espio tossed his throwing stars through the air with a single swing of his arm. Each one found their target, running themselves through the metal of the rifles, rendering them useless. Several raised their weapons to fire, but never got the chance as Vector initiated his bull impression and went charging forward with his head lowered; knocking them to the ground.

Rei joined in on the action as well, kicking one of them in the crotch before landing several punches against another. Charmee now filled with confidence at seeing his comrades fight back, ran his stinger through the back of one of the mercenaries. Howling, the mobian took flight.

Beck seized a plank of wood from the bench he'd been sitting on and using it was club, began battering away at any of Fang's thugs who got within swinging distance. Reducing the fighting to close hand to hand, the Sharpshooters didn't get a chance to use their guns and in this type of fight Chaotix where in their element.

Emerl's flying punch's slamming into another one of their number, the metal fingers grabbed the thug by the shirt and tossed him like a bowling ball straight into a set of charging Sharpshooters; knocking them all over. One of them tried to attack the black and gold robot from behind, but Gizoid simply rotated his body around and defended himself with his thick metal bracer.

Vector's tail swung around, knocking the feet out from a boar wielding a set of knives before the crocodile turned and snapped his jaws forwards at several others; frightening them away with just a glimpse at his teeth. The boar pushed himself up to his feet again and tried to attack while the crocodiles' back was turned. Vector simply swung his arm up and landed the back of his hand in his face. As the boar staggered back with a broken snout, the crocodile raised a leg and smashed a kick directly into his stomach.

"Chao Chao CHAO!" Cheese howled into the air, flying straight into one of their faces, knocking it over before carrying on to another and repeating the action.

"Get 'um Cheese!" Cream called over from the sidelines, safe within her mother's grasp.

"Get up you maggots; you're getting bested by a Chao for the love of god!" Nack yelled, pulling himself to his feet and reaching around for his big rifle. Resting it on his shoulder, the Weasel put his eye to the scope and aimed the barrel directly at the closest member of Chaotix: Rei.

Espio tore around and saw Fang's finger on the trigger. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from that point on. The chameleon turned and ran towards Rei; fear more than evident in his eyes

"Oh not again!" He begged the air around him as he ran. "Please not that again!" First Mighty had fallen to Fang;s greed; not Rei now! Anything but that!

Placing himself between the barrel of Fang's gun and the Flying Squirrel, time suddenly turning to its normal rate and Fang didn't hesitate in pulling the trigger. In that fraction of a second, Espio tore several shuriken he had left from their hiding place on his gloves and went them flying through the air.

One of them hit the flying as it came flying towards them head on and diverted its path down harmlessly into the ground, the remaining five however carried on. Two missed Fang completely, but three hit him head on; two sinking into his shoulders and the final one into the side of his arm. Crying out in pain, Fang dropped his riffle and collapsed to his knees.

The fighting around suddenly stopped and everyone there just stood and watched, even Emerl.

As if something had been lifted from his shoulders, the chameleon felt light headed and almost dizzy as he watched Fang angrily wrench the three throwing stars; one after the other out of himself. The two at his shoulders hadn't pierced the body armour, but he had not been so fortunate on his arm. Blood was running out through the large hole the weapon had ripped in his bracer. He'd been fortunate that he hadn't torn a major artery. Mobians were naturally made of better stuff than humans. Deep cuts, bruises and even serious broken bones would heal given time.

"That was a good shot…" The Weasel commented, staggering to his feet with a bleeding arm. Espio smirked at him. "But you're going to have to do better than that if you want to get the better of me."

"We already have." Vector replied with a wide grin. Fang suddenly looked puzzled and in that same instant, police sirens began blaring as a good deal of Squad cars began pulling up near by; accompanied by large vans labelled: S.W.A.T. Searchlights from choppers overhead lanced down through the trees as the place was nearly instantly surrounded by the cops. The weasel barred his teeth. Chaotix had kept him and his boys busy until the authorities arrived. The oldest trick in the book and he fell for it!

"Damn you!" Fang exclaimed and turned tail, making a break for it. Panicking, the rest of the Sharpshooters did the same; scattering this way and that as the police began storming the park.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Rei asked, watching Fang run away.

"Don't need to. He won't get far." Espio replied, reaching down and picking up a weapon that Fang had dropped. It was the same gun he had been pointing at him earlier, the one he used to kill Mighty. This was the all the proof they were ever going to need against Fang now. This gun would surely match the record of the one that killed their old friend.

As Espio predicted, Fang did not get far. Luck going south for the winter on him, the weasel ran almost directly into advancing SWAT police and was disarmed and handcuffed before he knew what was happening.

"I'll be back to get you Espio!" The Weasel cursed as the cops shoved them into the back of a police truck, slamming the door behind him. Espio's and Fang's eyes met through the bars of the back window. Hatred followed through the Weasel's eyes, yet for some strange reason that even the chameleon could not understand, only a stead fast determination was set in his. "I'll get out one day, and when I do you'd better watch your back!" With that, the truck drove away and Fang was gone.

Espio sighed and folded his arms. Someone, he left lighter than he had in years right now.

"His murder's been avenged." A voice said from behind him. Looking back over his shoulder he saw Rei standing behind him. "Fang's gone down and you have proof it was him shot your old friend." The flying squirrel gained a smirk. "You can let the vendetta go now." Espio remained silent for a moment, but then a small smile spread over his face and he turned to look up towards the sky. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was a bright orange and the clouds crossing it had a red tint of them. For a faint moment, Espio was almost convinced he saw Mighty's face up there smiling at him but the illusion was gone as quickly as it came.

Shortly after the police, the press arrived on the scene to start asking multitudes of questions and it was about then they decided to leave. After handing in Fang's weapon to the police for the forensics lab, they left the area before anyone could think of asking questions none of them had the patience to answer right now. They found a corner restaurant some distance away which was still open and ordered a large meal, on Vector's account of course.

"Look, I'm sorry about that." Vector began to Vanilla as the two groups sat down to two tables one behind the other. "That was our fight; you shouldn't have had to get involved." The female rabbit laid a hand on his shoulder compassionately.

"It's alright Vector. There's no need to apologise." The crocodile sighed and leaned on the table in front of him.

"That fight could have gotten you and your daughter killed." She just shrugged at him.

"You get used to that kind of thing when you're daughter's friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. When we're around him, as a group we get shot at three or four times a week." The crocodile looked up, a little confused. "Doesn't mean we try to avoid him."

"But…" She laid a finger on the end of his snout to silence him.

"Getting shot at is one of the hazards of your profession. You and the rest of Chaotix all have good hearts, and that's all that matters in my book." Vector began blushing uncontrollably as she placed a hand on his.

"Oh boy." Rei muttered, leaning back at his seat as Vector's eyes began swimming again.

"Vector's in love, Vector's in love, Vector's in love…" Charmee began singing again, although not loud enough for Vanilla to hear. Cream glanced at Cheese, who also bore a confused expression before the two of them looked over towards the seats in front of them, and the clearly romantic scene between the crocodile and her own mother.

"With my mom!" She asked the Chaotix members around her. Rei gained another goofy smile and Beck simply tucked into his meal. Espio was looked out the window to the street outside, resting his arm on his table.

"Tag, you're it!" Mighty called over as the armadillo slapped him on the back and Espio growled back, before the two young children made off down the meadow, one trying to catch the other.

"I'll get you!" Espio laughed, lunging at Mighty; who side stepped and let the chameleon crash into the long grass.

"Have to be faster than…" The words froze in the armadillo's mouth as he noticed his friend had disappeared completely. "Espio?" He asked of the empty space around him. Mighty searched around the reeds and long grass, but couldn't find a trace of the chameleon anywhere. Without warning, Espio began visible again behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're it!" The chameleon announced proudly, before turning and running away.

"Hey no fair!" Mighty called over him waving a fist about in the air before giving chase. Launching himself through the air, he tackled Espio to the ground and the two young children rolled through the grass under they came to a stop.

**_"Goodbye Espio."_** A voice told him as the world suddenly blurred into a white haze.**_ "Thanks for the memories."_** As if waking up from a dream, the chameleon shook his head and looked around him. By now their food was being served and Charmee was beginning to reach for the pie.

"Hey Esp, you ok?" Beck asked, seeing the chameleon's melancholy expression. Espio didn't answer for a moment. The light feeling was still there and finally he recognised what it was. It was freedom.

Freedom from hatred, freedom from the dissolving need for revenge and freedom from the pain. Mighty had moved on, Fang was in jail and now Espio was free to get on with his life.

Forging a smile created from utter relief and happiness, he turned back towards the human.

"Yeah I'm fine." He replied. "Now let's get some of that pie before Charmee eats it all."

"Hey!"

* * *

- 

The construction of a new defence grid to combat the growing threats was considered a national priority. Presently, thanks to salvage operations of various sources of technology, the level of military hardware in G.U.N had dramatically increased. Even so, it still palled in comparison to that of their multiplying enemies. While Sonic fought on their behalf up in space, that left them time to prepare for a conflict the Government felt inevitable.

Hexagon, now being the chief finical supplier for the military was charged with the creation and maintenance of this grid. And so far, according to the reports, the experiments in offensive and defensive weaponry had been successful. Right now, the President was on his way to survey the launch of their latest, and he was assured; greatest innovation.

Along with Christina Cooper, his personal assistant , the President was driven out to the middle of the Arizona Desert. It was here Hexagon had their main testing facility, it's security level now even higher then that of Area 51.

"I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised sir." Their guide, a Hexagon agent told them as the jeep pulled to a stop.

"I'll be surprised if nothing else." The President replied. "Why can't you tell me what this thing your going to show me is?" The agent smiled, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

"My superiors thought it better if you found out yourself." With that, he turned back to face the empty desert in front of them. Apart from a few cactus' and a mountain ridge in the distance, it was quite barren. The base itself was about a mile to the west. Right now, they were directly in the middle of the testing ground itself. "We're in position, it's a go." The agent stated, speaking into his walkie talkie.

There was a moment of silence, before a humming sound began evident in the air. The President stood up and looked around, trying to see what was causing it. In the desert before them, the sand began to part, giving way as something metal beneath the surface began to rise.

"What on Earth is…" The words died in the President's throat as a giant set of metal shutter doors parted to reveal a colossal hidden bunker below. Once the doors were fully open, something began to rise up from beneath. Once half of it's giant shape was outside in the sun both the President as his assistant knew what it was.

It was Giant Wing, the colossal battleship G.U.N had built using what they salvaged from the downed Egg Fleet. But it had been destroyed when it attacked the revived Biolizard, reduced to smouldering scrap iron.

"We managed to salvage what we could from the remains." The agent explained at the repaired pride and joy of the G.U.N forces hovered before them, a giant spiral that could constant float in the air. It served a military platform, capable of launching planes and other flight capable vehicles. "Thanks to the blueprints supplied by the G.U.N officers, and…other pieces of technology we were able to acquire, this new fortress is superior to the old one in every way. We call it, Giant Wing Mrk 2. Faster, better armoured and space going." That last part caught the President's attention.

"Space going?" The President repeated. The agent gained a smirk.

"Mr. President. Our civilisation is now officially one that can venture safely beyond the atmosphere. And that's not all." As if on cue, more shapes began to rise from the giant hole in the desert floor. None of them were anywhere near as large as Giant Wing but their numbers made up for it. They were modelled after the Egg Carrier, with shield wings and large thrusters at the back. All were bright silver and had the G.U.N **_'G' _**symbol on each side. "May, I be the first to present, the G.U.N fleet."

* * *

- 

(In Chris voice)

Fang's finally been caught! Mighty's murder has been avenged, but for the guys up on the terraformed Mars: the fight is far from over. With some of their friends captured by Metal X and others lost in the wilderness, how with the crew of the Blue Typhoon hold up against the Third General of Metal X; Leviathan? Find out next time on Sonic X, The Monster called Leviathan. Don't miss it!


	35. Episode 18

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 18: The Monster called Leviathan.

* * *

Major Koji Naoko Okida, leader of the Freelance Division of G.U.N decided it was better not to dwell on the improbability of his situation. No amount of logical thinking was going to change the thing. So for the moment at least, he forced himself to accept that he really was on a planet which; only a few days ago, had been completely barren. Clearly the Machine Federation had access to a technology far in advance of their own.

Pursued by the whole of the Metal X army and separated from the others, the major had little option but to keep him and his companion and their Mech's out of sight. If so much as one of those drones that crossed over their heads in a patrol like pattern spotted them, every robot for miles as going to be homing in on them.

By the time they reached the landing sight of their ship it was night time, but to their dismay the Blue Typhoon was nowhere to be seen. The ground clearly showed signs of the landing, but greeting them was nothing but an empty space. Okida flipped a switch and the glass covering the cockpit of his Yahger Mech slid backwards. Dropping to the ground using his wings to slow his decent, the Major examined the ground for anything that might tell him what happened here. Inside, he was silently praying he wouldn't find evidence that the Machine Federation had gotten here first.

"Anything?" Topaz asked from the cockpit of her Raptor Mech. During the drop out of the falling ship, the Speed class Walker had received quite a bit of damage to one of its legs. A quick patchwork job had performed, but that wouldn't keep if they got involved in battle situation.

"Not much." Okida replied, rummaging through the dirt with a single hand. Taking a fashion tip from Sonic, he had adopted a pair of gloves; although these had holes for the fingers and a strong almost leather like grip in the palms. "They where here, and not too long ago either. Probably only a few hours."

Topaz slumped back into her seat in the cockpit. Great, so far this missions had left the two of them stranded on an entire planet in enemy territory, hunted by vicious slaughter robots and their only ticket out of here was either already on its way back home or captured by the enemy.

"Great, now how do we get off this rock?" She asked out load. Okida hummed to himself and kneeled down so he could get a closer look at the ground. The Martian soil was a dirty brown, rather than the red he would expect. In places, it had been sourced as the engines of the Typhoon helped to either lift the ship or descend. A sudden idea pushed itself into his mind and quickly he let his wings unfold and instantly he was flying up into the air. Returning to the high cockpit of his Yahger, the Major flipped on the infra-red scope. The Mech scanned the ground for heat traces, and found a faint trail leading off towards the west. But it was so faint he almost missed it, no wonder those drones crossing through the sky at regular intervals failed to pick it up.

Before any notion of celebration could register, Okida felt a lump in his throat. What if they hadn't failed to see it? What if they already had the ship in their possession and were taking it something to get picked apart and the others were being lined up against a firing squad already? He shook his head. Now the time for positive thinking.

"Er. Major…" Topaz began, looking up towards the sky with a worried expression on her face. Okida followed her gaze and sighted a ship flying overhead, casting a thick shadow down onto the ground. Like the Behemoth, it was shaped like an old 17th century galleon but with a metallic effect to it. It wasn't as large as Metal Sonic's grand flagship however, but looked large enough to posse a threat. It was too high for its crew to see them luckily and carried on past, over a last ridge of mountains before heading west. After the Blue Typhoon possibly?

"We're going after it." The Major announced, strapping himself back into the seat in his cockpit.

"Say what?" Topaz asked, looking stunned.

"We need the transport." Okida explained, his hands already on the controls of the Mech. The Yahger shuddered at its pilots command; its torso pieced rotating around to face west; a few moments later it's bipedal legs also turned and began marching in that same direction. "But we have to do this quick and silently. We can't let them send an S.O.S message." He added, the jets on the back of his battle machine flaring to life; lifting it off the ground. The Raptor, while it had some flight capability had also damaged its jets in the fall and so all Topaz could do at this point was follow the Major on the ground. Luckily however, one of the Raptor's strengths was its speed. It was able to cross over distances quickly thanks to the long legs.

The Yahger was a heavy combat Mech, not designed for extended periods of flights; yet it managed to keep itself afloat and soon the Major as the ship within his sights. It wasn't paying attention to them and Okida intended to keep it that way, forcing his Mech to stay below the reach of its radar. At least, that was the idea. Apparently, the technological level of the enemy was more advanced then he originally thought. Not only did the ship detect his presence, but a large pair of laser turrets rose up from the top of each wing. "Ah crap." The major cursed; his hands flying over the weapons system controls.

Several shots rang out, forcing him to withdrawing to a safer distance. Surprisingly the ship did not pursue him, instead it increased its speed and tried to break away. This behaviour forced the vampire bat to wonder exactly what it was carrying that warranted not finishing an enemy off, just slowing them down instead? He was determined to find out.

Forcing the jets into overdrive, Okida was forced back into his seat as the Mech went soaring forwards; the ship growing bigger as he could nearer. The laser shots rang out again, but with this new speed the Major was easily able to plough through them, some of them missing him entirely.

Its pilot realized that at some point the Yahger was going to overtake the ship itself and swerved to the side, now heading south to try and escape the pursuing Mech. Okida managed a smile, showing both sets of fangs. He had it now.

The torso of his Mech rotated around in mid air, he fired two missiles almost directly into the side of the engines propelling it out the back. The steady blue streams spluttered at the hit, before dying away altogether. It shook in the air, before descending slowly; smoke trailing out the back.

"Koji look out!" Topaz screamed up through the com. Surprised by her use of his first name, the bat looked down towards the ground; only to see an almost never ending succession of green laser blasts come flying at him. They were colliding into the side of his Mech's armour before he had time to do anything. The force of the attack knocked him clean out of the air, his armour now riddled with holes.

Had his jets not come back on line, he would have crashed headlong into the ground. Even so, his landing was not perfect. The Mech's legs missed the ground and he ended up come down on his side, hitting his arm against the wall of the cockpit. "Koji, Koji are you alright?" He could hear Topaz asked him. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a sharp pain in his arm as he did so.

"Fine." He replied before testing the controls of the Mech's legs. Thankfully, they hadn't sustained that much damage and with a little effort, he was able to force the Walker to pick itself backup. "Ground batteries." The bat announced, stated the obvious conclusion for what had bombarded his battle Machine.

"Must have some kind of military installation around here they're protecting." Topaz agreed, leading them both under the cover of some local large trees for fear of being picked up by any Metal X patrols sent out to intercept or destroy them. "That ship must have been heading for it." Sighing, she turned looked over towards the Major's mech. "You almost got yourself killed." The bat smirked.

"It's my job." Was his simple reply. "You can yell at me for risking my neck AFTER we get out of this in one piece."

"Always have to have the last word." Topaz grumbled, folding her arms. Okida laughed, before running over the thermal imaging map the onboard computer had been running for him. From the air, the systems had had a good glance at the surrounding landscape and had been able to present him with a detail map. On it's original path, the ship would have been heading west and from the angle those laser blasts had come at, Okida guessed their position would have been about a mile in that direction.

Under normal escape and evasion tactics, Okida would be compelled to head the opposite direction. But this was not a normal situation and he had to adapt his strategy as such.

"We're going to pay that installation a little visit."

* * *

-

"Say what?" Sonic asked as Rouge finished her story, telling how she had seen the Metal X army take Bean, Bark and Hare captive. The Blue Typhoon, still under it's holographic camouflage was flying west towards the border of the swamp land. A few miles from their present position was wasteland of snow and ice. There they should be able to hide out until they finished repairs of the Typhoon itself and came up with a plan to rescue the others.

"They tried to get away." Rouge continued explaining. "But that Equinox guy had them completely surrounded. They were forced to surrender." Sonic crumpled to himself.

"Metal Sonic could have had them killed by now." He thought out load, narrowing his eyes in frustration.

"Use your head Sonic." Eggman snapped, sitting with his back to them at the front controls of the Blue Typhoon. "If they wanted to kill them, they'd have shot them on the spot."

"Why take them prisoner at all?" Amy asked, sitting nearby; leaning on her flat edge of her hammer.

"Hostages." Sonic replied. Metal Sonic was utterly ruthless. If he couldn't achieve what he wanted by sheer force, he would try other means. Like trading the safety of the captives for a few Chaos Emeralds.

"Forget it Sonic, they're dispensable." Eggman told him over his shoulder. "Those Emeralds are not." Sonic didn't have to like any of this, but under no circumstances could they let Metal X get a hold of all Seven Chaos Emeralds. Presently, they had four; three they found on Earth and one they took from the Machine Federation General: Equinox. Metal Sonic and his boys still had two, and Cream was given the task of finding the last one back on Earth. Whether or not she had found it by now, Sonic had no idea.

Outside, almost as if somehow had turned the page of a book the expanse of jungle, forest and swamp land ended and after passing through a short mountain range; the Blue Typhoon emerged out above the rolling tundra of a seemingly never ending land of ice and snow.

Being further from the sun, Mars was naturally colder than Earth and as such most of it's entire northern hemisphere had Antarctica like conditions. Long pillars of ice rose up to the north, forming the crust of the northern ice cap. Like Earth however, Mars' had varied environments. Scans taken while they had still been in orbit showed several tropical locations along with a large desert on one of the continents.

"Those can't be what I think they are." Tails remarked, staring down from the pilot's seat towards the ground. Sonic walked over to the window and followed his gaze. Wandering through the thick snow ridden grounds searching for grass were a herd of large, furry animals. Shaped like elephants but with far larger tusks and covered in dark brown shaggy fur; a few of these giants looked up as they heard the sound of the ship passing overhead but saw nothing.

"Mammoths." Eggman muttered out load, bringing up a holographic display of the herd for them all to see.

"But they're extinct aren't they?" Amy asked with a puzzled expression shared by everyone.

"Correct. Man was supposed to have hunted them to extinction over six thousand years ago." Eggman added, before returning to the controls of the ship.

"They look pretty lively to me." Sonic replied, scratching the back of his head. Eggman barred his teeth and growled loudly.

"Metal Sonic's experimenting with that technology he took from me. This is clearly a case of genetic engineering. The more he learns of it, the more powerful he'll become when he gets all seven Emeralds."

"Not gonna happen." Sonic told him firmly. Despite his doubts, Sonic stood firm in that understanding that no matter what, Metal had to be stopped.

"I'm getting a Chaos Energy signature." Tails announced, gaining everyone's attention as he brought up another holo-display. It showed a survey map that the Typhoon had put together, along with a set of coordinates off to the north. "It could be another Chaos Emerald." The young fox ventured.

"Best to stay clear for now." Sonic told him. "The last Emerald was guarded by a Metal X general and in our present state, I'd rather not have us going up against Leviathan or Lancelot and never mind Dark Oak." Still, stealing the Emeralds away from the Machine Federation was a mission priority. Selecting a spot between two snow banks, Tails set the large ship down; keeping the holographic camouflage up and running. Maintaining the invisibility was taxing the energy supply, but thankfully with four chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald itself that kept the power shortage at bay.

Cosmo shivered as she journeyed out onto the Blue Typhoon's deck to get a first hand look at the ice world around her. She had heard tales of landscapes such as this, but being a Maginaryworld Seer she had had little opportunity to visit them. Big was already outside with his Frog, who was nestled comfortable in the fur on the top of the cat's head. With them was a pick Big had taken from the hold, his fishing pole and a can full of live bait.

Before Cosmo could say anything to the large feline, Big slid over the side of the ship and flew down towards the ground, landing softly in the snow; sinking up to his knees. She watched from above as he dug around in the white around him, found a patch of ice and began hitting it with the sharp end of his pick. Once a hole had been cut, he hook a worn on the end of his fishing rod and dropped it through into the freezing water below.

"He always finds time to go fishing." Tails observed, walking up next to her. Eggman and his robots, under close supervision by the others, were busy having the ship's sensors survey the area before they headed out. "I'm not sure if it's in defiance of danger, or just his clueless nature. Probably a bit of both." He added with a grin. Cosmo smiled back, the shivered. She lacked the fur mobians had to keep themselves warm, even in freezing conditions. "Here." Gently, he past her a coat. Unfortunately, it had belonged to Chris and was about two sizes too big for her. After a bit of fiddling, she managed to get it to stay on her shoulders.

"You're dimension is quite different from mine." She told him as she looked out at the lay of the frozen land.

"What's Maginaryworld like then?" Tails asked. Cosmo hesitated, as if unsure of how to describe it.

"Less solid." She replied eventually. "Maginaryworld is created by the sentience of every being in existence in any reality. With so many conflicting opinions and idea's forced into it, it is constantly changing. Only the stabilising presence of the Precious Stone keeps the centre of it stable enough for us to live there." Tails raised an eyebrow and looked over at her.

"Precious stone?" He asked. This was not the first time he had heard the people from that dimension mention it, but had neglected to ask what it was.

"It's like our version of the Master Emerald." She explained with a short grin. "Only Mistress Illumina knows how it works. She is it's guardian and our ruler. In thousands of your years, Void was the only one to ever challenge her power." There was a sudden loud bellowing sound from not too far away and the two of them looked up. Standing on the edge of the snow bank they had landed behind was a very large mammoth. Tails suddenly had a distinct feeling of displacement, as if he was detached from reality; entering some bizarre dream world where nothing made sense. Then again, after he met Sonic he supposed he'd been in that world ever since.

"How did Metal Sonic do it?" Tails asked out load. "The last Mammoth died at the end of the Ice Age. And why bother to resurrect their species at all?"

"That's what we're here to find out." Cosmo reminded him with a small grin. She still had lingering doubts of her usefulness, but she was here for a reason and until she determined what it was she would help them to the best of her ability.

Tails nodded with a s mile of his own. Metal Sonic and his Machine Federation had done a lot of things that didn't make much strategic sense, but that had to be a purpose and Metal Sonic did not seem the type to do all this simply to satisfy a scientific curiosity.

"That's odd." Eggman mused out load, bringing up another holographic display for all those on the bridge to see. "It's a Chaos Emerald signature all right, but if I'm reading this correct then it's moving." Sonic looked up.

"Moving?"

"That's what I said hedgehog." Eggman replied over his shoulder. "It's about a mile away from our current position and appears to be travelling south. Not only that, but it appears to be under the ice as well." Suddenly there was a loud bleeping sound, as the Typhoon detected something else nearby. "Body heat, barley detectable amongst the ice." Eggman told them. "About three signatures, all moving in this direction."

With no supplies, no protection from the cold, no idea where they were going and hunted by the Metal X navy; Those of the Thorndyke family were in one desperate situation. Sam's ploy to lead the Machine Federation off in one direction while they went off in another had worked for a while but eventually the robots had picked up their trail and were pursuing them without mercy. Under the ice, following them was the giant submarine like robot; Leviathan. Leader of the Metal X navy, Leviathan was gigantic, a battleship all to himself. With no chance of fighting it, they three of them, Chuck, Chris and Sam had taken off on foot; heading south according to the compass they had. Hopefully, and with a great deal of luck, they'd find the forested area they passed over in order to get here. There they could hide and perhaps find something to eat.

"I don't believe it." Chris announced suddenly, staring up ahead of them. To keep themselves warm, they had crossed their arm in front of them and kept their heads down against the wind but could not see where they were going. Looking up, both Sam and Chuck saw what Chris had sighted. Sticking out of the snow a short distance away was the yellow triangular front of the Blue Typhoon. Sam just stood there dumfounded, it hadn't been there a second ago. Only moments prior he had sworn all that had been there was a snow bank. Walking towards it, they saw that the snow around it slowly began to disappear. Backing up, they observed it come back again.

"It's a holographic camouflage." Chuck told them, waving his arm through the side of a rock that wasn't really there.

"Hey…Over here!" A voice, a very family voice, called out to them. Stepping through the camouflaging shield that surrounded the ship; Chris came face to face with the green eyed blue hedgehog he knew so well.

"You guys ok?" Tails, who stood at Sonic's side asked as Sam and Chuck followed Chris through.

"Could be better." Chuck replied, rubbing the side of his injured arm. "How did you hold up?"

"We're still missing a few people. You're the first ones beside Rouge that made it back to the ship after the bail out." Sonic told them. They continued their conversation only once they got include out of the cold that Chuck could get that injury of his looked at properly. Tails was not happy that they managed to loose the X tornado but deep down the only thing he cared about was that they had safety made it back. "You didn't see Shadow or anyone did you?" The blue hedgehog asked once Chris had helped himself to a warm drink. The human shook his head.

"Sorry. We've been running for about half a day through the snow now. Metal X nearly had us at one time."

"They still have you, you fool!" Eggman nearly screamed at them, summoning them all to the bridge. "I'm reading a very large incoming!" Sonic was instantly on his feet. "They let you go you idiots!" The doctor continued, jabbing at the Thorndyke family. "And then they just followed you right to us!"

* * *

-

With the façade of some kind airport, the set of buildings Topaz and Okida discovered had two long run ways lancing away from the interior of the facility. The whole thing sat directly in the edge of a towering cliff, one half of it guarded by a tall electric fence and the other half protected by a sheer drop of at least a thousand feet. Towering out of the top of the main building was a giant radar tower, the dish pointed up towards the sky. Placed in two rows on vacant spaces were about six more of those flying ships they had seen earlier. The ground battery turrets that had taken a pot shot at the Yahger Mech stood a little further way on the edge of the cliff itself.

The perimeter fence was patrolled by two of those giant robot spiders belonging to the Machine Federation ground forces. Yet these weren't even the main guard. Sitting in rows of five were well over fifty flight capable drones. Some matching the ones that they'd seen searching for them, and others they'd never seen before. At the moment they were too far away to tell exactly what they looked like. This was clearly a base for their air force.

The ship Okida had managed a lucky shot at was there as well, large pieces of equipment gathered around it for repairs.

"We have to take out that dish first." Topaz stated, gesturing to the tower. "If we attack while it's still up, they'll send out a distress signal and we'll by up to our necks in reinforcements before we know it." Okida nodded. First order of business was to isolate the base, then storm their defences. With luck they would be able to do considerable damage before they knew what was happening. Once the forces guarding the base had been destroyed, they would see what they could salvage and at the same time, 'appropriate' one of their ships.

"By, appropriate…" Topaz began giving the major a sly side glance. "Do you mean steal?"

"Call the thing what you will, we're still going nick it." Okida replied, watching the base from the top of his conceal Yahger Mech. "I think that one on the left, the one with those missile launchers under the wings."

"Kid in a candy store." The human sighed, leaning back into the cockpit of her own Mech."Er…Major." Topaz began. Okida looked back from his surveillance and followed her gaze to the hood of her raptor Mech. Perched on the edge of the walker was the last thing either of them ever expected to see. It was clearly a flying animal, with long leathery wings folded on either side. It was pine green, with scales covering most of its body with some short feathers down its back. It had a triangular head that included a single horn lancing backwards out of its head and a long beck. Its back legs were short and bent as it stood on the very edge of the raptor, cleaning its bat like wings with its beck, picking pieces and pieces out of the claws on the tips of the long finger like claws, before it spread them out to the full wing span of about several feet and taking off into the air; disappearing through the trees and then out into the sky.

Okida and Topaz watched it go with open mouths.

"What that a Dinosaur?" The human eventually asked, look back towards her superior officer who wore an equally stunned expression.

"A Pterodactyl." Okida replied. "Ok, this is just getting weird." Without another word, he slid back down into the cockpit of his Mech and throwing a few switches the glass covering lowered back into place.

"I was under the impression they died out millions of years ago." Topaz argued, retracting the covering back over her own cockpit.

"Tell them that." Okida told her, his gloved hands already on the controls of his Mech. "But do it later. Right now we have a party to crash."

Before any of the Metal X guards could get a distress signal sent, several missiles came rocketing out of nowhere. They crashed straight into the communication dish, the explosion ripping it completely in tower and bringing the tower crashing down on the commander centre itself. The two Spider Mech's guarding the base rose up on all eight legs and turned to confront the intruder as a G.U.N class Mech came marching out of the trees. It took only a few moments for their sensors to register it as a Yahger, an assault type Walker. Missile launch capable and armed with the new combat callable laser; which it was using as it charged. A beam of blue light crossed through the distance between them, landing a direct hit on the back of one of the Arachnid Mech's, forcing the insect like machine to back up several paces. The second turned back and fired its own laser out from between it's jaws.

Seeing the incoming, the Yahger side stepped and the energy beam struck the ground near its foot. Its torso rotating around, the Mech fired several missiles through the air towards its enemies. One hit the spider on the leg and the entire machine shook at the impact of two others against its back.

While the lion share of the bases defences were drawn towards the Yahger, none of the Spider's noticed the Raptor dart out from the forest a short distance away and make for the base. The Raptor was a stealth type Mech was easily able to avoid sensors and by the time any of them picked it up, a large metal foot came slamming down on top of the communications building silencing them before they could get a message out.

Topaz turned the head of the large walker around and riddled the back of one of the spider's with round after round of bullets from her machine gun. Following this up with a barrage of missiles, she carved a large hole straight through the armour back of the Arachnid Mech.

With a sudden twist, the spider like machine turned around to face the new threat; which proved to be a mistake as Okida was able to fire a missile straight through the hole Topaz was ripped open on its back. There was a loud rippling sound as the missile exploded near its chaos drive and the insect Mech exploded in huge fire storm. Outnumbered and out gunned, even its armour was not able to keep the second machine safe. Keeping clear of its mouth, Topaz managed to dart in close enough to get the Metal X machine a ram. With one sudden thrust, the metal insect was forced over the edge of the cliff.

"You keep an eye open for any incoming." Okida told her, the glass cockpit sliding back as the Major somersaulted over the side of his Mech, floating down towards the ground. "I'll pick out one of the big ones." And they were, for lack of a more descriptive word, big. At least five times the size of the Yahger, these flying ships were shaped like a stealth bomber but with a large towering front. The Metal fist symbol, the icon of the Machine Federation stood in full view on each side. Okida thought that perhaps these ships wouldn't look so ugly if perhaps they replaced the Metal Fist with the G.U.N '**G'**.

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Topaz

Description: A member of Freelance division, subordinate to Major Okida and Rouge's best friend.


	36. Episode 18, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2;

Name: Leviathan

Description: The third made General of the Machine Federation.

* * *

- 

The ice cracked, splitting completely in two as a black monster heaved itself up into the air.

As soon as the massive front of the battleship sized General was up above the frozen surface of the water, the radar sensors on the top of its head began scanning the icy wastes around it. Few traces had been left by the escapes, but enough heat residues still existed to pin point in which direction they had gone. Not only that, but thermal imaging was showing the heat trail of a ship here by; although it was not able to pin point the exact location.

That ship of theirs had to be around here somewhere. It had to be under some sort of stealth mode, waiting until he or his forces got bored and left. Unfortunately for them, Leviathan could sit here all day waiting for them if he had to. Or better yet, he could make them move.

Divining back under the ice, the Metal X general scanned the underbelly of the frozen territory, searching for the exact spot he needed. If a ship that big was hiding, then it had to sit still. Any movement whatsoever would reveal their location. This in turn meant that their vessel was sitting on the ice itself.

Not for much longer it wasn't at least.

Several concealing pieces of armour all over his gigantic body pealed back to reveal a multitude of torpedo launching holes. Pausing only long enough for the clan robots serving as his crew to load the ammunition, the General launched a full barrage into the ice.

With a tremendous crashing sound, a geyser of icy cold water erupted up above the surface; blowing fragments of frozen water for miles before subsiding. The effect of that blast could be felt on the Blue Typhoon as the shockwave nearly tipped the ship onto its face. Big, who was still fishing 'Eskimo style', looked up as a dark shadow fell over him. The colossal body of the Blue Typhoon was swinging dangerous towards him, threatening to roll over at any moment and crush him. Exclaiming loudly, he grabbed what fishing equipment he could and his frog and bid a hasty retreat as the ship's hull rolled over his spot.

The explosion had done more than simply blow a hole in the ice. Cracks began racing up and down everywhere in sight as the ground beneath their feet became unstable, threatening to give way at any moment.

"The ice can't support the ships' weight anymore." Tails began, his fingers running over the controls at the main helm. "We have to take off."

"Even with the Holo-clock on they'll detect the engines firing up." Eggman warned him, complying with the demands for a lift off all the same.

"We'll just have to risk it." The fox replied, pulling back on the controls. Big made it back onto the ship just in time as the engines at the back of the ship roared to life, melting the snow and ice around them and with a sudden thrust; the Blue Typhoon as suddenly in the air. The sudden force of the take off nearly threw Big out the cargo bay door through which he had just come.

A moment later, the snow and ice for at least two miles began collapsing in a domino effect, sheet after sheet sinking beneath the waves before a gigantic hole was torn below them and out of which, the colossal form of the Metal X General; Leviathan slowly began to rise; every turret on his back rotating around to face directly towards._"_

_This is Leviathan."_ A voice stated, projecting into the communications system of the Blue Typhoon._ "Third General of Metal X, and leader of the Navy force clan."_ Eggman grunted; turning off the camouflage the Blue Typhoon was under. They knew where they were now, there was no point wasting energy with necessary stealth.

"Hey, I remember you." Sonic stated with a short grin, glancing down through the window towards the giant below him. "Boy you sure put on a few pounds." The blue hedgehog joked._"_

_I assume you are the one you destroyed my fellow General Equinox and stole his Chaos Emerald?"_ Leviathan asked contemptuously.

"It was a team effort." Sonic replied. The Machine Federation leader remained silent for a moment, before he replied to the jest by opening fire on the vessel with a full barrage of missiles and laser blasts. "Some people can't take a joke." The Blue Hedgehog added as the ship shook under the assault.

"The Egg-shield is holding." Eggman reported. Since his vessel was partly his creation, he installed a couple of proven defences and offensive devices of his own which he thought might come in handy at some point. "Let me handle this Tails." The doctor added, looking back up towards the fox. Tails glanced down at him with a confused look on his face. "If there's one thing I know, it's how to win in this kind of fight."

"You didn't do too well against us." Sonic reminded with levelled eyes. Tails nodded and transferred all controls to the lower helm. Eggman gained a sadistic grin as a set of moveable key pads like the ones Tails had been using projected out towards him from the console. Taking one in each hand, the Doctor assumed control of the ship's movements.

"Why do I suddenly have this sudden sinking feeling in my stomach?" Amy asked out load. The Typhoon did a sudden left turn and the weapons on that side of its bulk all rotated around at once, their barrels pointing downwards.

_"__Target locked; nine-o-lock."_ Becoe told his master, whose grin expanded inanely as his thumbs slammed down on the trigger button. The air outside was suddenly full of laser fire as Eggman shot nearly everything he had done towards Leviathan. The General, who had not been expecting his degree of firepower was struck head on, a large sheet of the armour on his back riddled his holes before he descended back beneath the waters and disappeared.

_"Launching depth charges."_ Decoe announced pressing a button in front of him. At the back of the ship, a large door opened and a large collection of round metal objects with the Doctor's face painted on them began dropping towards the water. Hitting the water they hardly made a splash, but as soon as they dropped a good distance below the surface; they began exploding with cataclysmic force. Water was sent flying up into the air and the ice around the edge cracked and broke off, widening the hole.

As soon as the explosions stopped, Eggman looked down towards the battered ground below. There was no sign of the enemy, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there. After a few moments with no counterattack, the Doctor sighed out load and leaned back in his chair.

"Incoming!" Chuck yelled up. Eggman looked up in confusion, trying to understand what was going on. But by then it was too late, like a whale; Leviathan shot out of the water and up towards them. While very submarine like, The General had mostly fish like qualities including a thick swishing tail at the back, fins and a large gaping mouth. A mouth which were wide open as the general soured towards them, dozens of metal teeth lining the inside.

"&$$ing hell!" Eggman cursed, grabbing the controls and slamming them right down. The Typhoon went into a nose dive, narrowly ducking under the metal lunge. Leviathan soured pas them by mere meters, carrying on over them.

"Hey, Free Willy!" Sonic commented; looking up as the whale like robot shot overhead before falling back towards the water again.

"Your mind's wandering again." Amy warned him. The Doctor, now annoyed, snarled and took hold of the controls; swinging the ship around to the right. The front cannons opened fired, hitting the General across his underbelly several times before he disappeared below the water.

_"Direct hit Doctor."_ Becoe reported, but quickly changed his tune as, apparently undeterred; Leviathan curved around in the water for a second charge. Poking his colossal head above the surface, the Machine Federation leader opened his mouth opened as far as it would go and began gathered energy; the barrel of a laser cannon protruding from his mouth.

* * *

- 

Bark had been in this prison for about two days now, served food only twice every twenty four hours and never let out of the cells. All the polar bear could see through between the bars was the cell on the opposite side of the corridor. The interrogators, being machines; apparently didn't understand the meaning of the word compassion. Every once in a while, one of them was taken away to be asked a few questions such as, what was their vessels weapon capacity, now many crew members on board what sort of thing. The room they took them to was obviously a torture chamber.

The interrogators strapped their subject into a metal harness and then fed a current of electricity through it. Not enough to kill; but enough to give the subject a great deal of pain. Bark had only been through the procedure once, and he was profoundly glad for that.

Eventually, he mused; they were going to start using mind altering drugs or something like that to pry information out of them. There was a loud clanking succession of foot printed and the polar bear pressed his nose to the bars, trying to see what was happening.

It was the guards, bringing the latest subject of 'interrogation' back to their cell. Two small, humanoid robots in what looked like swat gear were dragging a mobian by the arms along the floor. Bark grimaced. It was Tikal.

One of them pulled the cell door opposite from his open and the other shoved her in roughly. Once inside, they closed and locked the electronic device holding the door shut.

"You metal scum." Bean, who apparently didn't know when to keep his beck shut, shouted out from between the bars of his cage a little further down. "Do you get some depraved pleasure in torture?" One of the robots turned its head towards him. Slowly it marched over, reached through the bars and grabbed the duck by his bandana. It smashed him against the metal poles between them a few times, before releasing him; letting the mobian dropped to the floor.

"A machine can't be insulted Bean." Hare, in the cell on the left hand side of Bark's told him. The mobian rabbit had been through the interrogation more than the rest of them, and his brown fur had been torched a far lighter shade. "So save your energy you something productive."

The duck, who was now lying on the bottom of his cell, chuckled loudly as their guards marched away, their clanking footsteps becoming fainter and fainter. Finally they disappeared altogether as they left, a metal door shutting behind them.

"What's so funny?" Bark asked him. Bean sat up, another of his psychotic grins playing over his bill.

"I managed to break this off the metal guy when he grabbed me." He replied, revealing a thin piece of steal probably about no bigger than a hair pin.

"Oh great plan." Hare remarked sarcastically. "You can chip away at the bars with that piece of junk. It make take you a few decades, but we'll be out before we turn white I'm sure of it." Bean just shrugged.

"Not a bad idea, but I thinking more along the lines of picking the lock." With that, he put his arms through the bars and began fiddling with the square device that held the door shut.

"Careful…" Bark warned him. "It might be alarmed." Bean, who up to this moment had been calm, started sweating. A machine could easily be alerted by a silent alarm. They could already be on their way to rip his arms off or something. He wouldn't put it past that Dark Oak.

Tikal pushed herself up into a sitting position. Those robots didn't know the meaning of the word mercy. They kept asking her questions and when she wouldn't or couldn't answer they gave her a painful electric shock. But what distressed her the most was her complete isolation. While on this ship, or at least in the brig area; she couldn't teleport away nor summon assistance from Chaos or Maria. To make matters worse, she couldn't sense Shadow anywhere around here anyway.

A loud clicking was brought to her attention followed by a loud 'yah-ho!' from Bean's cell.

"SHUT….UP!" Hare hissed at him, trying to make him by quiet before he alerted something to their escape attempt. Bean clamped a hand over his beak and quietly as he could pushed the rusty door to his cage open. Once outside in the corridor, he looked around for the key card the robots used to open the doors. He couldn't waste time picking the locks of the other three. Eventually finding it tied to a hook on the wall near the entrance to the cell-bay, Bean quickly had them outside into the corridor.

Tikal was still quite weak and needed Bark's help in order to even stand on her own two feet.

"Ok, what's the next part of the plan?" Hare asked. Bean suddenly looked apprehensive. "You do have a plan right?" The mobian rabbit continued.

"Well er…" Bean hesitated. Hare smacked a palm into his forehead. "Hey, I'm working on it!" The duck told him, crossing his arms.

"Work faster!" Hare snapped.

"Look, HERE'S the plan." Bark told him, using his command voice to steer the conversation around from a punch-up. "A ship this big has to have a launch bay where they keep some fighter plans of some kind. We steal one and fly away." All three of them, Tikal included were left staring at him,

"That's all?" Hare asked eventually, spreading his arms out wide. "Well for a minute there, I thought we were going to have a hard time with it!" His tone was so sarcastic Bean grimaced.

"You got a better plan?" Since none of them could come up with anything even slightly better than that, Tikal included, they had little option but to adapt a strategy around Bark's idea.

Pushing the door to the cell bay open a little, Hare peeked outside to take a look. Greeting there was another corridor, this one just as dirty and dark as the first. Luckily, the two robot guards were not standing outside so the rabbit was free to push the door open completely.

"We have to find Shadow." Tikal told them as Hare double checked the coast was clear. "We can't leave without him."

"What makes you think he's even on this ship?" Hare asked as they ran down the corridor, one eye constantly kept on the look out for monitor's devices of any sorts.

"He's here alright." Tikal insisted. "Somewhere…above, on an upper level." She added after a momentary glazed expression.

"We don't have time." Bean told them as the rounded a corner, coming to a large metal door baring the way. "Any second now they're going to find out that we got out of the cages and they'll be combing the ship for us." He added, approaching the keypad on the side and attempting to crack the code. Suddenly a loud blaring nose erupted through the air and the lights above changed to a blood red.

"Like right about now." Hare commented dryly.

* * *

- 

Leviathan's next assault was devastating. Laser fire, mixed with missiles bombarded the shield enclosing the Typhoon and it took all of Doctor Eggman's piloting skills to avoid getting them blown to pieces. Whenever a counter attack was attempted, the Machine Federation general simply dived beneath the surface of the water and when necessary under the ice where the thick sheet gave him adequate protection.

"This is getting us nowhere." Eggman declared, after a fresh round of weapons fire hit the side of the shield, causing he floor beneath their fleet to shudder violently. "We can't even pull out to fly away. We try that and he'll blast us to pieces." The Doctor looked up when he noticed Chuck worked at the controls next to him, his fingers a blur as he began typing away as fast as he could. "What are you doing?"

"He might be a powerful robot." The grey haired man replied with a short grin. "But he's still a machine. And all machines have an electronic brain, and an electronic can be hacked."

"You can hack into this oversized metal whale from here?" Tails asked, slightly in awe.

"Give me a minute to finalize the connections and I'll be inside his…"

"LOOK OUT!" Cosmo declared, jabbing a finger forward. Eggman looked back and cursed out load as he saw Leviathan jump clear out of the water and come souring towards them again. Water trailing from it's fins as it soured upwards, mouth wide open. If Eggman hadn't force his entire weight down on the controls, the damage to the ship would have been far worse. Instead however the giant general crashed straight into their shield the entire ship spinning to the side. Tails struggled to keep it aloft as Leviathan fell back towards the water.

_"Doctor, the Egg shield is at maximum capacity."_ Becoe warned his master.

_"Another hit like that and it will go offline." _Decoe added.

"I'm well aware of the situation." Eggman replied with a short growl, righting himself up in his seat again. Chuck struggled back to the control panel, his fingers resuming typing.

"Just keep him off us for a few minutes and I think I might be able to deactivate some of his weapons."

"Well hurry it up." The doctor replied, turning his attention back to the matter at hand as Leviathan launched another set of missiles ground the ground.

"Tails, can you pilot that Turtle Mech down in the cargo deck?" Sonic asked up to his old friend.

"Sure." The fox replied with a quizzical look on his face. "Okida showed me earlier. Why you wanna know?" The blue hedgehog gained a superior smirk.

"I've got a plan." Amy suddenly grimaced, she'd seen that look and heard that tone of voice before. Sonic always adopted them when he was about to do something either very brave or extremely reckless. "Chuck…" Sonic called over. Chris' grandfather looked up briefly. "You keep trying to crack that code." The old man nodded and got back to work. "Eggman, I'll need you to follow Tails' instructions once he passes them on."

"Do I look like the 'obeying orders kind?'" The Doctor asked, making the ship fly up to what he considered a safe distance outside Leviathan's jump range. "Alright fine, as long as whatever you have in mind beats this thing."

"Hey, I was able to beat all your robots wasn't I?" The blue hedgehog asked with a thick smile.

"Don't remind me." Eggman said flatly, turning back to his piloting.

"What you need the Turtle for?" Tails asked, climbing down out of the helm.

"I'll explain on the way." Sonic replied, taking hold of the fox by the arm and racing off.

Leviathan scanned their ship from below the waters. The last few attacks had drained their shield and the vessels movements were far more sluggish. That last ram had done considerable damage to it's propulsion system, the general was willing to wager. He knew perfectly well Metal Sonic was probably going to tear him in half for destroying them, when he had it quite clear he wanted the pleasure of killing them, but what the robotic hedgehog didn't know was that many of his underlings felt that his obsession to hunt and destroy the blue hedgehog was putting their glorious Machine Federation in jeopardy. Once Sonic was gone, Metal Sonic would have no choice but to forget all about it.

Rising to the surface again, Leviathan poured most of the ammunition he had left into once last barrage, striking again and against and again against the point he detected their shield beginning to tear. Several missiles collided into it, an invisible curved wall around the entire vessel was momentarily visible and the chink in the armour Leviathan had been waiting for appeared. Whatever he had left, the general fired straight up and through that hole.

That armour plating on the hull held up, but still the shockwave alone was enough to knock the weapons offline. Eggman cursed again out load as the weapons controls died in his hands.

"I'm in." Chuck declared. "Online with host sever, downloading information."

Leviathan suddenly became aware of a information leek inside his brain. Quickly his diagnostic system traced the leak to a hacker, using a radio signal to remotely break in. And that hacker was somewhere on that vessel. It was trying to shut down his weapons systems, not only that but it was downloading information essential to the success of Metal X. That information could not be allowed to fall into the hands of their enemies, especially not the hedgehog!

Backing off to the edge of the ice, the general began gathering power to his propulsions systems. One last ramming attack would tear their vessel apart and end this quest for revenge their master had them one.

On the front deck of the Blue Typhoon; a large metal trap door slid to one side and a lift rose upwards; the G.U.N Turtle Mech rising into view, a curved tortoise like shape with a green armour back; four large legs supporting the weight. The large barrel of a cannon was protruding through the armour on it's back. Standing on the tip of which was Sonic, looking down towards the water with his arms crossed.

"I'm not so sure of this Sonic." Tails, who was sitting in the cockpit preparing to follow the blue hedgehog's instructions, although with a more than apprehensive look on his face.

"Trust me." Sonic replied. "I know what I'm doing."

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

Can Bean, Bark, Hare and Tikal escape from the Behemoth? And what about Shadow, will they leave him behind?

Sonic and Leviathan go head to head next time on Sonic X, Crash through the Ice. Don't miss it!


	37. Episode 19

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 19: Crash through the Ice

* * *

Without a moment's hesitation, Sonic somersaulted down and slid down the barrel of the cannon. Reaching the bottom, he curved his entire body around in a ball and stared spinning, faster and faster; static electricity building up to momentous proportions in his quills. 

Strapped into the pilot's seat in the cockpit, Tails activated the Turtle Mech's weapons system and a small screen descended from the ceiling; a targeting display already there for his use.

"Eggman, swing the Typhoon thirty degrees to the left and hold there." The young fox announced, speaking into the small microphone had landed out from the com device tucked into his ear. The Doctor who was still busy, trying to repair the massive hole drilled into the Egg Shield, looked up in confusion.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He replied, complying with the request. The Blue Typhoon began sliding to the side several degrees until its triangular front was completely level with the Metal X general down below, who right at the moment was building up the energy he would need for one last attack.

"Download complete." Chuck suddenly told all those on the bridge. "I'm shutting down Leviathan's weapons."

The General of the Machine Federation shuddered, feeling all the laser weapons he had crafted onto his body go offline without his consent. Try as he might, he couldn't get them to reactivate. That remote hacker onboard the Typhoon had shut down most of his offensive systems, and at the same time it had stolen all the information registered as top secret inside the electronic brain. Not that it would do them any good in about ten seconds time.

With one suddenly last thrust, the water bound machine shot out from the surface and flew into the air; its target locked in plain sight. There was no way he could miss this time.

The top of the Turtle's cannon began to glow bright blue, shafts of light lancing out into the sky as more power than the Mech's buffers could work with began to build up. Tails began to sweat as the monitor showed him that the Leviathan was an all out assault. Either they stopped the General now or they got knocked out of the sky.

In that next instant, the targeting system gained a lock on. Swallowing hard, Tails slammed his thumb down on the trigger button.

The cannon whirled loudly, blue lightning danced up and down its length before with an echoing boom, its hedgehog bullet went screaming out, the air rippling around it as it broke the sound barrier several times, glowing bright blue, all the time spinning faster and faster.

With a colossal smash, Leviathan and Sonic crashed in mid air. The blue hedgehog soured right past the general's metal teeth and down his throat. Tails watched in horror, thinking that Sonic's plan had horribly backfired on him.

For a moment, the Metal X general continued souring towards them and then, out his tail end Sonic went rocketing out, tearing half of his body off in the process. In seconds, the robot General's body was consumed by fire from the inside out, parts of his metal armour flaking off before with one last bang, beams of lanced shot out from the holes in his body and he literally exploded.

The shockwave passing through the air nearly sent the Typhoon flying backwards to crash into the side of an ice wall. It took a good deal of piloting on Doctor Eggman's part to stop them from doing so. If Tails hadn't clamped the feet of the Turtle Mech onto the deck of the ship, it would have been blown clean off the side.

As the flaming wreckage of the Metal X general fell down towards the water's surface, Sonic came out of the spin holding the grey Chaos Emerald he had snagged from the inside of the machine. Coming into contact with the ice, he slammed a foot forward and let drag, the friction slowing him down; giant clouds of snow and fragments of ice flying out behind him. Finally coming to a stop, the blue hedgehog had left a giant gorge in the surface.

Ever since he'd first been to a circus, he'd wondered what it would be like to be shot out of a cannon. His fingers curled tightly around the Chaos Emerald, he used the energy to warp back to the ship with a Chaos Control; emerging out of a short green flash on the deck just as Tails was climbing out of the Turtle Mech.

"Told you, piece of cake." He said with a short smile, tossing the fox the Chaos Emerald. "Well, five down and two to…" As soon as the jewel was out of his grasp however, the strength it had been giving him dissipated and he collapsed, falling back with a loud thud against the side of the deck, never even finishing his sentence. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor.

The next thing the blue hedgehog remembered was opening his eyes to see a bright light directly in front of him. For a moment, he thought he was in that long tunnel towards the light he'd heard about. That is until someone slapped across the face, hard. Yelping, he sat up, hit his head on something made of metal before falling back down again.

"What did I tell you about reckless stunts?" Amy's voice asked him as he rubbed his forehead. Someone pushed the light out of his eyes and he blinked; his sight adjusting. He was sitting in a bed on the Blue Typhoon's infirmary, a bandage wrapped around the side of his head. Standing nearby were Amy, as he'd guessed, Tails, Chris and Rouge. The infirmary was a short room with a few beds arranged in several rows along the side. Most of the area was taken up with medical supplies and equipment.

"Hey it worked didn't it?" Sonic asked lazily, leaning back into the pillows with a smug smile on his face. The pink hedgehog puffed her cheeks and stared down threateningly at him, thunder brewing behind her eyes.

"Don't push your luck Sonic." Chris warned him.

"So where are we now?" The blue hedgehog asked, trying to turn the conversation around in the opposite direction as it suddenly looked like Amy was about to reach for her hammer.

"A couple of Metal X drones started showing up sow we went back into Camouflage mode. We're waiting for them to pick up the wreckage of Leviathan before they move on." Tails replied. "Well actually they aren't really salvaging his remains. More luckily there were looking for that Chaos Emerald he had in him."

"Knuckles already has it down with the other four in the Energy Chamber." Chris told him before Sonic could ask. "Well it's good guys five, Metal Sonic one."

"That won't last too long." Chuck announced, coming into the room; a look of intense fear on his face. Sweat was running down the side of his eyes and his eyes were wide with horror. "That data I managed to download from Leviathan, it included some of Metal Sonic's orders. I know why they turned Mars into an inhabitable world!" Everyone cast each other a puzzled glance.

"Ok then Chuck, spill it." Said Tails.

"Chaos Emerald Duplication." Eggman replied, walking in the room after Chuck. He didn't seem as scared or horrified as Chris' grandfather, but rather he wore an angry mask, the skins above his narrowed eyes sinking onto the top of his glasses. The ends of his moustache curling, a characteristic sign of intense annoyance or frustration. "They needed an unspoilt world so they could leech off the life-force radiating away from it." He added, crossing his arms.

"Chaos Emerald what?" Sonic asked.

"Duplication. Cloning Chaos Emeralds." The Doctor replied; putting it in laymen's terms. "I tried experiments with the process myself, but the results weren't exactly what I'd hoped for. Metal Sonic must have stolen the notes I made on the process when he attacked my Egg Carrier."

"Cloning Chaos Emeralds." Tails repeated with wide eyes. "If he could master a process like that, Metal Sonic could have access to literally unlimited power." Eggman nodded.

"The drained life-force of this new world is being used in experiments to use as a catalysis. If the data we retrieved from that General is anything to go by, then their close to succeeding."

"How close?" Sonic asked.

"Too close. We have to stop those experiments, or Metal Sonic won't even need to hunt down the real Chaos Emeralds. He could simply create a counterfeit whenever he wanted."

"I created a fake Emerald once." Tails added. "It wasn't as powerful as the ordinal though. Nowhere near."

"That's the difference. Metal X is trying to create exact copies, with the exact same power within them. Just think of the power a hundred emeralds could unleash." Chuck told him. Sonic shuddered. Seven Chaos Emeralds had the potential to destroy an entire planet, A hundred? That was more than enough to destroy solar systems.

"I'm more worried about what might happen if Metal Sonic looses control." Eggman announced, gaining several confused expressions from the group. "I was barley able to contain a cataclysmic chain reaction when I tried experimenting with it." He explained. "If Metal Sonic started mass producing Emeralds, they might revert to their molecular standards."

"And explode?" Sonic asked. Eggman shook his head.

"Chaos Energy does not simply explode. If it becomes unstable it bends in on itself, creating a warp to drain the access energy away. If the ones Metal Sonic tries to create do that, then they could tear a black hole open." The conclusions from that were very clear. If the black hole was opened here, so close to Earth; both planets would be sucked into oblivion.

* * *

- 

Bark kicked the entrance to an air vent open as alarms all over the ship began blaring, screeching to the guards that the prisoners had escaped from their cells. Bundling everyone into the air duct, the polar bear shoved himself in and slid the grate back into place over their escape route.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" He asked, seeing them sitting there. "Move it!" They didn't need anyone to tell them twice. In the corridor outside, the sharp clang of metal sticking metal ran over; the foot steps of the robotic guards. On all fours they crawled, turning this way and that in a dark maze of metal, trying desperately to out pace the search parties. There was a sudden loud slamming sound and Bark, the one taking up the rear looked back to see a large metal fist tear away the floor of the vent just behind him. Just beyond the tearing metal he could see a large red eye, an optic scanning the immediate area for any life signs. Acting on instinct, he gave Hare; the one in front of him a shove forward. This proved to be a very unwise action, as like a domino effect, all four of them knocked into each other and they were all sent cascading down a dark hole Tikal had been trying to edge her way around.

The fall was not pleasant and eventually they were all cast out the other end into a chamber on the lower levels.

"Will you do me a favour Bean?" Hare asked, his voice muffled as he was the one they had all landed on.

"Sure what is it?" The duck asked, rubbing the side of his daze head.

"Will you please get off my back!" Hare tugged himself roughly out from under them, letting them all fall back. Bark sat up and looked around the dimly it room. Once glance at the place told in it was a service station for the engines. Technicians, or whatever the Machine Federation used for technicians came in here to monitor the output of the engines themselves. Two rows of steaming pipes rose from floor to ceiling, surrounded by a protective grating running around the bottom half. Several terminals rose out from the walls on the far side of the room, most of them offline with blank screens apart from one in the middle that was in the midst of a diagnostic check. The alarms weren't blaring on this level, so maybe Metal X didn't know they were here.

The polar bear picked himself up and walked over to the activate terminal. While primary muscle for the Freelance Division, Bark was a computer genius and it didn't take him long to hack into the Behemoth's system. According to the read out, they were at the back near the lower thrusters, or at least that was what it said. Their only way out appears to be the fighter area towards the front. Current records showed that there were over five hundred fighter craft there to choose from.

"There look!" Tikal began, pointing to another point on the technical readout on the ship. Towards the very top of the ship was a point marked **U.L**. Or, Ultimate Lifeform. "It's Shadow, we have to go get him." The female Echidna persisted.

"They're not going to let us walk in that and take him." Bean reminded her. "We don't have time. I say we go for the escape route right now and get the hell out of…" He was cut off as Tikal walked right up to him and slapped him on the side of the beak. Hare tried to suppress a chuckle but it leaked out anyway.

"We are** NOT** leaving him behind." She told him, as if it was a fact written in stone. Bark seemed amazed at how quickly the female Echidna took command of their group and drew out their battle plan. Using the map they had of the ship, they determined the quickest, safest route with the least security. It was not an easy way, and it involved going through several more air vents but there was no defying Tikal now she was set on Commando mode.

Luck was on their side as they followed the memorized map up through the levels, one by one towards the top. Using their fore gained knowledge to evade the security detection systems they made good time; but the trip was still long and painstaking for the slightly miss step and every robot on the ship would be all over them.

When large security doors barred their ways, going through the vents to by pass them was the only option, yet even then they had to be careful. A good deal of the air ducts were alarmed, so when they managed to detect an alarm they would have to go around that at well.

Hare shoved the grating to the chamber they needed open and dropped down inside. The room itself was obvious a laboratory of some kind. It was egg shaped, with a tall curved ceiling. Equipment of all kinds ran around the outside, wires and cables flowing everywhere like snakes. A balcony formed a second level by running around the outside edge above them. The actual entrance to the room was a pair of large doors to the left, but these they would have been able to open. Their locks needed a keyword to open and if they guessed wrong, an alarm would have gone off. Lancing down from the ceiling in the very centre of the room was a large dark pillars, multitudes of wires wrapping around it as it descended. At the very bottom it opened up into a large containment pod of some kind, half of it made of metal and the other half covered by a glass dome. A soft green glow was being emitted from inside by a pale green liquid

And there, standing directly in the middle of it all was Shadow. His fur was bathed in a soft green light by the liquid and dozens of electrodes were trailing down from the ceiling to him, attached to his arms, legs and chest. An oxygen mask was strapped over his mouth and several metal restraints were holding his limbs in place.

"Let's get him out of there." Bean remarked, pressing a button on the side of the machine, calling up a panel. As it rose into place, the duck began typing away giving the release commands. There was a soft click and the metal bars holding his arms gave way. Lifelessly, the black and red Hedgehog let his limbs down to his side. He was clearly in some kind of comatose state, even when his legs were freed he didn't even move. He was just floating there like some kind of rag doll.

Suddenly, a shot ringing shot rang out as a laser blast came out of nowhere, striking Bean across the chest. With a loud yelp, he was sent crashing to the floor; the feathers on his shoulders scolded. Bark shot around to face the direction the blast had come from, only to gasp and back away in horror. Both Tikal and Hare looked back, up towards the metal balcony that ran around the second level of the chamber, to the tall metallic figure standing there.

It was Dark Oak.

The First General of Metal X glared own at them with his single green eyes, his arms held out in front of him; the twin cape attached to each shoulder pad bellowing out behind him. Each metal talons and horn gleamed brightly in the semi light, highlighting the general's most intimidating features. His curved scimitar like blade was in one hand, and smoke was steadily rising from the hand he had blasted Bean with. His single eye was stuck down towards them, intended malice more than evident behind the glass that covered it.

"Oh crap." Hare remarked, staggering backwards. Tikal ignored their interruption and pressed the final button Bean had been about to. There was a sudden whooshing sound and nearly instantaneously the liquid was drained out of Shadow's capsule and the black hedgehog flopped against the front. As the glass that kept him in place rose out of the way, he fell forward, the electrodes attached to his body snapping. With a soft thud, he hit the ground.

"Shadow…Shadow wake up." Tikal called, taking the oxygen mask off his mouth.

_"He will not answer you."_ Dark Oak told her from the balcony above. _"To keep him under control, we kept him in intense suspended animation. His system was resilient, but we increased the intensity of the stasis to match."_ He was right, no matter how much Tikal shook him Shadow remained asleep. She yelled and yelled and he remained motionless and mute. Dark Oak somersaulted over the side of the balcony and landed effortlessly on the floor. _"You will return to your cells and that Project Shadow will be put back into his tank."_ The general told them._ "Accept you."_ He added, turning his large armoured head towards Tikal, who was still busy trying to revive the black hedgehog. _"You have been deemed without worth."_ He raised a hand, each finger with a serrated talon on the tips, ready to swipe.

Shadow's eyes shot open.

Before Dark Oak could defend himself, a Chaos Spear shot through the air colliding with his body; throwing him across the room to collide with the wall on the far side. Tikal looked up to see the black and red hedgehog standing up, fists clenched and eyes wide open. The ultimate life form stood with his back to her, glaring towards Dark Oak. His entire body was surrounded by a red glow, which was fading even as she watched.

The doors marking the entrance of the chamber burst open and at least a dozen Metal X robots poured into the room, combat types with heavy looked dark blue armour, a single green eye like Dark Oak and armed with laser nasty looking laser rifles on each arm. They surrounded the five mobians, raising their rifles as they arranged into as detaining formation.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow declared and before the General could give the order to open fire, a dazzling white light erupted, blinding everyone who tried to look at it. Tikal, Bark and the injured Bean were swallowed up by it, vanishing into nothingness along with the Black hedgehog. When the light finally died away and Dark Oak could actually see what was going on, all five of his prisoners had disappeared.

Shadow didn't have enough energy to pin joint exactly where he wanted to teleport. Instead, he focused on the genre off of the Behemoth and down on the ground. As it turned out his energy had been even lower than even he imagined as when the Chaos Control finished, a powerful back charge from the warp smashed into him like a brick wall.

Dark Oak pushed himself back to his feet. This run around was beginning to bore him intensely. For just how much longer did he have to keep this charade up anyway?

_"Come in, Dark Oak."_ A voice over his com-link began. It was Lancelot, the only other member of the General elite still left.

_"Yes, I am here."_

_"I have been able to locate the Blue Typhoon."_ The reply was short and immediately to the point.

_"I will be there momentarily." Dark Oak said in return._

Night was longer on Mars than it was on Earth, so the stars were still visible when Tikal and the others were flung violently out of Chaos warp and onto the ground, all piling on top of each other, except for Hare; who was unfortunate enough to end upside down in a nearby holy bush. Shadow was the last emerge, arms spread before he dropped roughly down to the muddy ground.

* * *

- 

There was something. Topaz could not explain what or why, but something was there. It was present in the way he stood, or sat, or even snored while at the helm. Wait, snored! She sat up, finally alert of her surroundings, seeing the ground come flying up to meet them through the front screen. Cursing, she dived forward and seized the ground, pulling them out of their dive bomb before they collided with the side of a mountain.

It had been over a day since they seized a ship belonging to the Metal X machine Federation, and Okida had been piloting it for all that time. Their two Mech's the Raptor and the Yahger were down in the storage compartment. There was more than ample space for them, and as luck would have it, a deactivated spider Mech belonging to the Metal X ground forces lay with them. Capturing that technology would be of great strategic importance.

With the sudden jolt Okida was thrown forewords in his seat, hitting his head against the control panel. He cursed loudly into the air, rubbing his fur with a hand he grimaced, opening one flaxen yellow eye.

"Right, that's it, I'm taking over now!" Topaz told him, shoving the Major out of the pilot's seat and taking the helm herself. Okida, who was still groggy, remained on the floor smacking his dry lips together lazily. He was dazed and apparently had no idea what had just been avoided. He stretched and then stood up.

"Morning already?" He asked. Topaz shot him a glare over her shoulder.

"You nearly crashed the ship you idiot!" She told him, before turning her attention back to her piloting. "Why didn't you put it on auto pilot?" Okida was too tired to answer. He was a good pilot, but no one could go for twenty four hours straight without rest, or food for that matter.

Once Okida had gathered some of his wits back and realized exactly what had happened, he reluctantly let Topaz take over. He was exhausted and in need of sleep, and a little snack wouldn't go amiss either. Their rations, or whatever they been able to grab from the Typhoon before they bailed out, were all they had so he had to make himself content with a piece of fruit. He stared disappointingly at the apple in his hand for a minute, pictured it as a large steak with a side of French fries, with desert waiting and took a bite.

Their ship was flying west, following the trail of the Blue Typhoon. If the readings the equipment in the cockpit were right, then they were catching up. Their ship was long and triangular, with a large back end to house the large cargo compartment. Even so it still flew; a lot better than the air craft G.U.N used. Clearly it was constructed with, or based on some of that ancient technology Eggman found in the Canadian north.

Flying alongside them occasionally were more of those pterodactyls. Clearly Metal Sonic had been experimenting with more of that technology and genetic engineering. A few scientists back on earth had toyed with the notion of using frozen mammoth remains to clone the species back to life by using the embryo of an elephant. As for the Dinosaurs, both of them wondered if perhaps Metal X had used the techniques in Jurassic Park to resurrect them.

After finishing his 'meal', Okida slept on and off, each time his eyes opened and closed the scenery in front of the front screen changed as time came and went. Finally getting enough shut eye, for now he believed, he let his eyes wander around the cockpit. It was a small room, probably designed to house small robots but it was large enough for them at least. Most of it was taken up with technical equipment and thick cables leading out the back door. Eventually his eyes settled on Topaz and he stopped.

She had neither fur nor wings and didn't even share the fangs the vampire bat would expect from a female, yet she bore a unique radiance none the less. As humans went, or at least as far as he understood their tastes, Topaz was quite attractive. For a brief moment, he wondered what she would look like if she were a bat. He pictured the wings and the fur and even the fangs, yet even with his racial tastes it didn't seem right. He banished the image and stared back upon her natural features. That seemed strange. She seemed beautiful as a human, yet when imaged as a mobian she seemed to loose the appeal.

As if she could sense it, she could feel his eyes on her. Most of the men she had worked with in the armed forces had given her a wander over with their eyes before; she was used to that kind of the thing. Yet with him it was different and couldn't help blushing. Perhaps, he mused, it was because he wasn't human. She had never been looked over by a bat before.

He was a nice enough guy. Sweet, sensitive, hardly anything like the testosterone addicts she'd had the displeasure of meeting. She must be sensing something else. Why would a mobian be interested…that way…in a human?

"I've got a signal." Topaz began, trying to shift the tense moment. Okida blinked and was finally brought out of his thoughts. "I think I just managed to find the Typhoon."

"Where is it?" The Major asked, standing up and looking over her shoulder.

"About a mile or two directly ahead and are moving away from us a top speed." She replied. "We're going to have to move it if we want to catch up."

* * *

- 

Flip card 1:

Name: Lancelot

Description: Third General of Metal X and the second strongest of the four.


	38. Episode 19, part2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2;

Name: Behemoth

Description: Metal Sonic's flagship

* * *

It was more then just the threat that made them all work together so flawlessly Cosmo had realized. She could see it in the way they walked, talked and even sat still. She could almost taste it in the air onboard the ship. She could even sense it from that utter grouch Eggman.

Amongst the data Chuck had been able to acquire from the Metal X general Leviathan, included a set of coordinates for the laboratory at which the Machine Federation had been conducted experiments in Chaos Emerald cloning. According to the map Chuck had the Typhoon's master computer constantly calculating, the base lay far to the west beyond the ice, along the coast of a tropical area.

None of them were exactly sure what they'd find there, but they were all pretty sure they'd been facing another of the Metal X generals guarding the place. They'd managed to take two chaos emeralds from each of the two general's they'd already defeated, bringing their grand total up to five, excluding the Master Emerald. This boast of power in the energy chamber had enabled Eggman to repair a lot of the ships systems that had been knocked offline during the fall.

Now, all the engines apart from the ones that enabled the jump drive were up and running and they could engage the holo-camouflage for longer without something burning out

"I can't tell you how good a hot shower feels after a whole day of freezing to death in the snow." Sam remarked, coming onto the bridge still with a towel drying his hair. Now back on the ship, all the Thorndyke's had taken advantage of some of the luxuries on board. Chuck had a proper bandage around his injury and Chris had taken a change of clothes. All of them had stuffed themselves to satisfy their hunger after a day of fasting. Sonic's mind was else ware.

It wasn't on their mission or the impending doom Metal Sonic could bestow on them with an unlimited supply of Chaos Emeralds. He was more concerned for the safety of the others, Okida, Topaz, Bean, Bark, Hare, Tikal and Shadow. Rouge had already informed them that Bean, Bark and Hare had been captured by Metal X. As for Shadow and the other three, none of those onboard had any idea where they were.

Shadow was not someone easy to take alive and if he had escaped Metal X, he would have found a way to get back to the ship by now.

"So what's the centre of Maginaryworld like?" Tails ended up asked as he and Cosmo sat looking out a porthole window. The two of them sat in the kitchen area. The icy Martian landscape lay outside and through that, they could see more of the unexplainable presence of herds of Mammoth.

"The buildings are grown." The green haired girl replied with a short smile. "The people of this dimension build their homes. We grow ours." Tails found the idea of growing a crystal house absolutely fascinating. For hours they sat there discussing the culture of Maginaryworld, and in return Tails told her about his world. Cosmo was amazed to find that the Earth they had left behind was a fused world. That was a rare, in any reality.

"It's happened before?" Tails asked, catching that hint. Comso nodded.

"Occasionally, when two dimensions are so alike they blur and eventually begin to merge into one." Tails sat there silently, contemplating something for a second.

"Maybe Earth and Mobius were meant to join into one; Chaos Control simply sped up the process." So that theory of Chuck's had been correct. Earth and Mobius would have come together on their own eventually, but since Doctor Eggman's machine backfired and fired a massive Chaos Control warp, the energy released acted as a catalyst for the dimensional joining. "How many dimensions have your people seen?" The young fox asked.

"Quite a few." Cosmo replied. "I've never seen them myself, yet the records claim to have reports from over then thousand different worlds." In that instant, Tails was given a brief glimpse at the utter size of reality. Cosmo's people had seen thousands of different cultures and ideas, believes and faiths. Not just across the universe, but from different dimensions as well. Compared to all of that, their fused planet was less than nothing. Even so, Cosmo wanted to know all about it. Tails didn't claim to know absolutely everything about the world, but he tried to answer the girls' questions to the best of his ability.

What interested her most were the multitudes of conflicting cultures and religions present on Earth. She had never heard of a civilisation so divided on itself, and over some of the most trivial things.

"Well that's us for you." Tails stated with a goofy grin.

The air around them rappelled, filled with a blue haze, a door at the far end of the room and then closed again.

"What was that?" Cosmo asked, looking around.

"Ah Sonic's just restless again." Tails replied, leaning on the table. An instant later the door at the far end of the room opened and Amy came in.

"Have you seen…?" She began. Cosmo and Tails just pointed to the open door at the other side.

"He went that way." The two of them said at the same time.

"Oh thanks."

"How does he run that fast?" Cosmo asked as Amy left after the speeding blue hedgehog.

"How does Knuckles punch so hard? How does Shadow throw golden energy bolts?" Tails asked in reply. "And why do I have an extra tail?" He added, gesturing behind him. "Those are just some questions I guess that'll never get answered. Not even Sonic knows now he gets to run so fast. He just runs. Knuckles just throw's strong punches, and I just fly." That caught Cosmo's attention.

"Fly?" She asked. Tails blinked, remembering that Cosmo; being new to their group did not know the ability his second tail gave him. Smiling, he wound his tails around each other and began hovering in the air. The green haired girl just stared in wonder. A few people of her world could fly by mastering energy output, but she had never seen a none winged species do it without aid from technology. Tails reached down to offer her a hand. Cosmo hesitated, before taking it.

Tails gently lifted her up into the air.

"I first learned how to do it when I fell out of a tree." He told her. "Ever since then, it's been as natural to me as walking." The two of them hovered over the room several times, each and every time Cosmo looked stunned and amazed.

"I wish I could fly like this." She remarked. Tails sighed.

"You don't want a second limb." He told her. "It bought me a bit of grief from bigots who thought me a freak." Cosmo just grinned at him.

"Forget them Tails. It's a gift and you were given it for a reason." Tails looked down coyly at her.

"More of that destiny stuffed." She nodded, not catching his near sarcastic tone.

"Sonic can run fast, Knuckles can hit hard and you can fly for a good reason. You'll have to do something and you'll need those gifts to accomplish it I'm sure. Things rarely happen by coincidences."

Suddenly and without warning, the entire ship shook violently. Tails hit his head on the ceiling and the two of them fell to the floor in a big heap.

"What the hell was that?" Eggman demanded. He got his answer as a large shadow passed over the bridge and the form of a giant ship, bearing the icon of the MetalX Machine Federation on the side passed overhead. Following by another, and another, and then another. Within minutes, the Typhoon was surrounded by a small fleet of Metal X ships. A second later, a loud screeching filled the air and souring past all the ships came a metallic beast with colossal wings and a long neck and tail. Standing on the tip of its triangular head was a metal figure, with its arms crossed and blaring yellow eyes staring down at them.

"It's Lancelot!" Knuckles declared, recognising the second general of the Machine Federation from their last meeting, even with the new edition; a pair of dragon like wings to it's back.

"Not only him." Sonic added, rushing onto the bridge. Everyone followed his gaze upwards and let theirmouths hang open as an even bigger ship past by, smaller than the Behemoth but large enough to rival the Blue Typhoon in size. An entire forest of turrets ran down either side of its long sides, under which was the familiar Metal X icon. The ship itself was triangular in shape, with a large back housing colossal engines. The wings were long and the edges were shaped like the feathers on a bird of prey. Standing on the deck watching them in the same menacing manner as Lancelot as another they were all familiar with.

A tall robot with purple, samurai type armour and one large green eye, a scimitar like blade already clad in one hand, the sword gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

"Dark Oak!" Eggman stuttered, staggering back. The most powerful of Metal Sonic's generals, it was he who brought the Blue Typhoon done, and with only one attack. He stood there now as confident as ever, his double cape flapping around his shoulders in the wind.

_"If we succeed, Lord Metal Sonic will be angry. We are defying his direct orders as to how Sonic was to be confronted."_ Lancelot reminded his superior over a com-link. Dark Oak stood looked down at the Blue Typhoon contemptuously.

_"He puts too much effort into making these organics suffer; pursing a vendetta and wastes valuable resources in the process."_ Was his reply, a view shared by many officers within the Federation. _"For the good of the Machine Federation, we must kill them now." _

_"Agreed."_ Lancelot added with a slightly nod of his head. _"Let us destroy them together."_

Every ship surrounding the Blue Typhoon opened fire all at once. Eggman barley had the Egg shield back up in time to deflect the laser fire that filled the air. Even so a few lucky shots got through, striking hard against the ship itself. Metal X ships were everywhere, encircling their own vessel like a noose. And that noose got tighter and tighter.

As if squeezing them like a constricting snake, the room the Typhoon had to manoeuvre around the worst of the attack began to lessen.

Lancelot's mechanical Dragon soured around the front of the assault, repeatedly smashing it's whip like tail against the side of the shield, trying to break it open. It almost succeeded, but Eggman managed to adapt the shield for greater durability in time.

This gave Tails the opportunity to get back into control of the weapons systems. The Typhoon's own turrets rose out of their positions and with a satisfying click, the targeting sensors locked onto their targets. Returning fire, the air was thick with laser and missile fire.

Ships began falling out of the sky, but the assault on the Typhoon did not stop. Dark Oak raised his sword high into the air, calling forth more of the chaos energy had endowed in him, his blade sparking with power. Lancelot's Dragon shot into position and reared it's head back, energy sparking between it's teeth as it also prepared to fire.

The combined assault of the two General's attacks was catastrophic. The shield shattered with a earth shattering boom, and the multitude of the firepower concerned by the small fleet passed through.

"Eggman what are you doing?" Chuck asked as he same Eggman take hold of the jump engine controls. There was a short whirring sound and a metal pedestal with a big red button in the centre rose up through a square hole.

"Trust to luck!" He declared, smacking his fat hand down on the red button. Forced online by the last resort program the Doctor has installed, the jump engines almost literally tore a hole open in space and the Blue Typhoon was sucked right through, along with several of the Metal X ships. As soon as the back end of the ship was through, the hole closed and those left outside were hit with a very powerful backlash as the air re-stabilized. Only the ships belonging to Dark oak were left unharmed by the sudden blast. Those destroyed were that of the Machine Federation air force, Lancelot's clan.

"What was that?" Okida asked as the shockwaves that had knocked their ship of course subsidized. On the horizon, a blue glow with the intensity of a second sun

"The jump drive!" Topaz gasped. "They used the jump engines!"

* * *

- 

Shadow would not wake up. It was as if he had used whatever energy had left to teleport them out of Metal X clutches and now had none left for himself. Tikal sat beside him in the cave their group had taken shelter in It was Hare who first spotted her hiding hole in a cliff wall. Quickly they had gotten undercover as a thundercloud passed overhead and nearly instantly it began raining heavily, forks of lightning zapping across the heavens.

"I never thought I'd be glad to have fur in the middle of summer." Hare remarked, shivering slightly. The small cave wasn't exactly element proof and a good deal of the cold was getting in.

"I don't know what you're complaining about really." Bean remarked, standing at the entrance in the rain, looking up towards the sky. Personally, he loved the rain. He couldn't see what others found so depressing about it. There was something poetic about a thunder storm.

"It's all very well for you." The mobian rabbit told him, shaking his drenched brown fur. "You've got feathers, water rolls of you like…" He hesitated. "Like water of a ducks' back." Hare added with a grin. Bean groaned and slapped the end of his beak. Bark, who sat comfortably warm under a thick layer of fur and fat had said nothing for a while now.

If anything, it was a little hot for him. He'd prowled through frozen wastes before and felt quite content, so a little drizzle was nothing to him. Tikal however, who's fur was too thin to ward off the cold of a downpour sat shivering next to Shadow, hugging her knees.

"Here." Bean began, passing her his woolly hat and scarf. She mouthed a thank you before wrapping them around herself. They had placed Shadow in a sitting position next to her; his head flopped lifelessly against the cave wall. His chest was rising and falling, proving that he was still alive.

Tikal was beginning to worry. Shadow had taken worse beatings than this before and had recovered easily. Something else had to be affecting him other than the effects of the stasis Metal X had put him in to keep him under control.

She placed a hand on his forehead and let her senses radiate down from his finger tips, trying to breech that block of mental ice the black hedgehog had surrounded his soul with. The ice was still there, yet it had thawed slightly around the edges. Perhaps her own doing, but what was coming through the cracks were not what she expected. Thin streams of anguish, bent up rage and frustration followed like rivers out towards her and she could feel them as they were own emotions.

Every negative emotion in existence was flowing to extremes behind that dam and if that was where Shadow had been forced to retreat to while help captive by The Machine Federation, she feared for what it might do to him.

"Shadow…Shadow can you hear me?" She called past the ice, trying to reach them. As if she were seeing it, a faint glimmer of light began to materialize beyond the barrier. It flickered on and off, as if beckoning her to come closer. Tikal hesitated. She knew a lot about Shadow's past, but everything he had every experienced was inside there, growing stagnant and intensified feeling.

Reaching out, she gently brushed with her own mind along that wall.

"MARIA!" The words shot through the being, screamed with emotion so intense Tikal was literally flung away from the unconscious black and red hedgehog. What had coursed through her body then had been like thousands of volts of electricity in its strength, yet comprised of nothing but pure grief. She had never sensed anger and pent up rage that strong, not even from Chaos.

"What was that?" Hare asked, looking back. Tikal put a hand over her face, trying to force the memory of that overwhelming surge out of her head.

"Nothing." She replied. "Just fell over."

He she accomplished anything? Shadow's rage had not degreased as she'd hoped, and now he was trapped inside with it. She had to get to him before his inward rage destroyed him.

Quickly Tikal sat up and placed her hand on Shadow's forehead. This time she was not subtle, she stormed down and crashed into his defences. If a brush with that wall hurt, then a direct clash was enough to make her dreadlocks stand on end. All she was doing was touching the wall, an d she could literally feel the horror beyond it.

"SHADOW!" She screamed into his head as loud as he could. There was no reply, only the sounds of battle emanating from within were the only signs of anything going on in there.

With one last push, she forced her way through and emerged into the projected landscape created by Shadow's own mind.

It was not a pretty picture. It was desolate wasteland, a brown scare place. This was a world where Shadow's thoughts, emotions and desires were manifested in physical form.Down before her across a never ending expanse of plain was a maze, a maze forged out of stone statues. Stone statues of Maria, all depicting some of his most fondest memories. Thundering above were storm clouds. From those Tikal could feel the rage, all the negative emotion Shadow had built up.

Walking through them, Tikal got a first hand glimpse at the events that transpired on the Space Colony, but told from Shadow's point of view. When he had first been created, Shadow had the mental age of an infant. Maria and her grandfather were the only people there who didn't treat him like some sort of experiment. He attached to them, as and his development proceeded he grew very foundof them.

Then the event took place and Tikal couldn't bring herself to look upon those images. It was then the ice wall emerged around him and he'd left nothing in or out since. Apart from quick burst of rage, Shadow had remained completely emotionless.

Looking up, she saw the tallest statue of all towering over them all; a giant rendering of Prof. Gerald Robotnik himself. As tall as a mountain, it made all the others seemed insignificant.

But that wasn't what drew her attention. A soft light was steadily pulsating a little distance to the left of this colossal shape. Hurrying through the statues, she found the source of the light. Growing out of the lifeless dirt was a single white rose, completely out of place amongst the wasteland.

Tikal knew instantly what this meant and she smiled. This flower hadn't been here before. It represented something new, something fresh. Something that had passed through the ice to get here. Only a kind thought, idea or word would have spawned something like that in this place.

She knelt down and gently touched a petal with the tip of her finger. She almost burst out laughing, realizing what had created this thing. It was when she had managed to get him to play tag back when the Icarus crash landed on a deserted island. For the first time in a while, he had had some fun.

She knew what the problem was then, what had been keeping him from healing himself. It wasn't the rage, as she'd thought. That was simply a cover, like the ice, for what lay deep within at the core.

It was worry.

After suffering silently for so long, Shadow had finally found people he might actually call a family. Amy, Tails, Rouge, Cosmo, Knuckles, Cream and even herself. He cared for them all and intense fear was gripping his soul. What would happen if the same thing happened to this new family as it did to his last one? What would he do then?

"There's no need to worry Shadow." She told the flower. "We're not going anywhere."

Without warning, the thunder clouds above intensified and a mocking laughter rang out amongst the bolts of lightning. Tikal looked up in surprise as the lining of the clouds turned green.

**"One flower of hope, opposed to an entire storm of anger and despair. You waste your time."** A voice, filled with malice announced on the wind.

"You!" Tikal declared, looking up towards the sky of Shadow's mind. "How can you be here?" The disembodied voice seemed amused.

**"My reach is longer than you realize, Echidna. The dreams and subconscious thoughts of lower creatures are free for me to traverse." **A loud rumbling shook the ground and staring up, Tikal watched a shape solidified before her. A towering dar shape made up of thunder clouds, a well build humanoid figure with bony spikes jutting out along the other edge of the arms and along the shoulders. Horns curved upwards from the top of the head and a pair of insect like pincers lashed out where the mouth should be. Engulfing the body were flames, all a sickly green.** "You know what is inevitable."**

"Nothing is pre-destined." Tikal replied. "I know your intentions. You'll never succeed."

**"Spare me your sermons."** The over powering presence told her. **"That event will take place and you, and the rest of your kind are going to die."**

The over powering presence told her. 

Tikal opened her eyes, finally back in the real world. A cold sweat was running down her forehead as her worst fears had been confirmed.

Krish had not be defeated. He was still very much active.

* * *

- 

Despite everything, The Blue Typhoon had thankfully not crashed when they came hurling out of Eggman hastily activated warp. That wasn't to say that their landing had been perfect either. Presently, the Typhoon lay half submerged in water off the coast of some tropical island. The computer remained online long enough to tell them that they were still on Mars, which was a mixed blessing as it meant they hadn't been shot to some planet on the other side of the universe.

"I have good news and bad news." Eggman remarked, looking up from his work at the console.

"Bad news first." Sonic told him, his arms hanging by his sides. "That way I've something to look forward to."

"While the ship didn't suffer any significant damage, the backlash from the jump drive knocked the engines completely offline. It'll be a while before I can get her back in the air again." Those on the bridge started groaning.

"And good news?" Tails asked. Eggman forged a grin that none of them looked found of. It was the kind of grin they had only ever see him use when he was about to do something particularly nasty.

"The good news is, my calculations were correct when I made the jump We're arrived precisely two miles away from the location we were heading for."

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

Sonic and the others encounter the Machine Federation's greatest project, cloned Chaos Emeralds! Can they take down this Chaos Emerald production facility, or will the Metal X fleet hunting them put a dent in their plans? Find out what happens next time on Sonic X, The Chaos Emerald Factory! Don't miss it!


	39. Episode 20

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 20: The Chaos Emerald Factory!

* * *

-

With absolutely no worries in the entire world, Big the Cat sat the end of the Typhoon with his fishing rod in one hand and a bucket full of bait in the other. No matter where they wound up on this planet, he somehow managed to find the opportunity to go fishing. And with little else to do until either Doctor Eggman fixed the ship's engines or located that Metal X base they were supposedly so near, Sonic had little to do accept wait as well.

The tropical location they had landed in kept the water around them quite warm, so much so that Rouge and Amy had taken the opportunity to go swimming. Rouge, for Knuckles' benefit Sonic thought to himself, was wearing a revealing blood red bathing suit. Turning, Sonic saw the guardian of the Master Emerald standing beside him with a transfixed look and a powerful blush on his face.

Sonic held his hand up with the echidna's face and then clicked his fingers. Knuckles blinked and started looking around as if he'd just woken up.

"Look Lover boy, just get in there with her before I throw you in." The blue hedgehog told him, putting his hands on his hips. Despite his embarrassment, Knuckles managed a smirk.

"You're a fine one to talk." He replied, gesturing down towards the ocean, where Amy was swimming about with her Hero chaos Turel following her flying above. She was also wearing a swimsuit, which Sonic suspected was showing a bit too much flesh then she'd anticipated. Sonic put a hand on his nose before anyone could notice the blush. "So why don't YOU get in there?" Knuckles asked with a wide grin.

"Water ain't my thing." The blue hedgehog replied flatly, crossing his arms and turning away sulking. Knuckles let his arms drop to his sides with a bored expression on his face, before a very impish idea came to mind and he smiled. Sonic still had his back to him so he didn't see the red Echidna sneak up and with a one shove, push him over the edge. Sonic exclaimed out load before falling into the water.

"How's the water?" Knuckles called down, only to have the drenched Hedgehog yell something at him, some blurred as Sonic was yelling too fast.

Sonic wasn't a good swimmer. He wasn't even a moderate swimmer. He tended to panic at the sight of a kiddie pool, yet somehow he managed to struggle off towards one of the nearby small islands. The nearest one was probably no longer than several feet, with a few palm trees sticking out of the middle, most of the island being covered in golden sand.

"BASTARD!" The drenched hedgehog called over to the Typhoon. The island was within the holo-camouflage radius so he could still see the ship, and the red dot that stood on the deck.

Knuckles, who was not prone to childish pranks, actually found himself laughing. Doing that had been an impulse and strangely it felt rather good.

"Turn about's fair play Knucklehead." Someone told him from behind. Knuckles turned, just in time to see a gloved hand shove forward, sending him over the edge.

Hitting the surface and diving underneath, The Echidna panicked and started flailing about, only to have someone pull him up.

It was Rouge, and right not he had a perfect look directly at her chest.

"That wasn't funny." He told her as they floated there, trying to deflect the attention away from him before she noticed his gaze. Rouge managed a smirk. She had noticed anyway.

"Oh? You seemed to think pushing 'water-intolerant Sonic' into the drink was good for a few laughs."

"Idiots." Eggman muttered to himself, casting a glance out the window towards those outside, who were either taking the relative peace as time for relaxation. Chuck and Sam were outside on the top of the ship with deck chairs, arms behind their heads, sunglasses on and a bottle of suntan lotion at the read as they roasted their skin in the sun. Big, as usual, was fish but that wasn't anything out of the norm. Tails and Cosmo were out there too. The green haired girl had sighted a coral off their port bow and Tails was taking the opportunity to tell her all about it. The two of them where quickly becoming inseparable. Not that Eggman cared about that, what really ticked him off what that he was the only one working while all the others were out there having fun. And with a Machine Federation fleet searching for them, fun was not something they could afford right now. Angrily, He put his tool box down and made for the exit. "Now, if you're all finished playing…" The Doctor began, marching out onto the deck. "Can we please focus on some of the more important things? Like, oh I don't know…escaping a robot fleet intent of blasting us into oblivion?"

"Well I suppose you'd know all about robot fleets wouldn't you?" Sam asked, letting his sun glasses slide down his nose. Eggman sent him a glare that screamed, 'don't push it.' There was a sudden loud whooshing sound and Sonic climbed back over the side of the deck, his blue quills completely water logged.

"Right, where is he?" He demanded angrily, looking around. He's been running a little low on Chaos energy and hadn't had the power to teleport back to the ship, so with Amy's help he had to swim back to the ship. Swimming and Sonic the Hedgehog did not mix.

"Where is who?" Chuck asked. Sonic paused, his ears angling forward, before he turned and looked back to see a water ridden Knuckles climbing back after him.

"Think it's funny do you?" The blue hedgehog asked, before giving the Echidna a shove of his own. Knuckles flapped his arms in mid air trying to get some balance, before tipping over and falling back down towards the sea.

"And here I was thinking I was going on a trip with professionals." Eggman muttered as Chris handed Sonic a towel. "Instead I end up babysitting a bunch of children."

"A bunch of children that whooped your schemes on more than one occasion." Sonic reminded him. The Doctor just grumbled angrily.

"I've had time to survey that island chain up ahead." He began, deciding it best to change the subject. "There are about five islands in all and the base we're looking for placed on the largest one." He gestured over towards the islands in the distance. The largest of the five was more than evident as it was at roughly three times the size of the others.

"We'll have to send a recon party to check the security features." Chuck ventured.

"That's another thing." Eggman added. "If I read the data we downloaded from Leviathan correctly, the experiments going on in that base are of top priority to the Machine Federation." He looked out towards the ocean. "If it were me, all of those islands could be outfitted with every security feature I could muster. Yet the Typhoon's sensors don't read a thing."

"Maybe security around the base is super tight?" Sam replied, leaning back into his deck chair.

"Maybe all the traps and stuff have cloaking features, like our holo-camouflage that keeps them hidden." Chuck began, tapping his chin.

"Or maybe they want us to get in." Sonic added with hard eyes. That gained everyone's attention, even Knuckles who had just pulled himself up over the top of the ship, with his dreadlocks now drenched.

"A trap?" Chris asked.

"Possibility." Eggman began. "Of course it could be neither, or all. We won't be able to tell until we take a look." He turned to face Sonic, who had his mouth open ready to speak. "From a distance." The blue hedgehog's ears flopped to the side of his head and his arms flopped, a disappointed look playing over his face.

In the end, it was Tails who was selected to take Sonic over the island in one of the planes that had left in the hanger.

Cosmo grimaced as a familiar wave of sudden imagery passed through her mind. Staggering back, he stopped at a wall and used it to regain her balance. While the sensation had been familiar, the timing had not. Visions only came while she slept, never before had they slammed into her mind while she remained awake.

In that instant, she knew something was very wrong.

She saw Sonic, pure and golden hearted as he was, overcome by intense darkness and she had watched in horror as he changed from the steadfast hero he had always been to something…else. She knew no word to describe it…other than…**_evil_**. The darkness that had overcome him was the same was that which she had previously seen him standing against.

Was it a premonition of the battle to come? Did it mean that Sonic would…loose? Or worse, did it mean Sonic could actually join forces with it, turning his back on everything he had ever been? Something, some strong impulse told her it had something to do with those islands.

She looked over towards the blue hedgehog who standing nearby talking to another of his friends, that same characteristic goofy smile on his face. That certainly didn't look like the case…but what else could the vision mean?

In any rate, she had to let Sonic know of her discovery.

"That's a little vague." The blue hedgehog began when Cosmo related the story to him. "Anything else?" The green haired girl shook her head.

"I don't know what it means, but I just know it takes place if you go to those islands." Everyone around looked a little confused.

Sonic didn't take all this seeing the future stuff through visions seriously, yet he could see the fear in Cosmo's eyes.

"Well I don't want to get swallowed up by darkness." He began with a short grin. "Knuckles, why don't you go?" The Echidna, who was still drying himself off, looked up in surprise.

"What me?" He asked.

"Yeah you. I think strength's going to count more than speed on a job like this anyway." Sonic replied folding his arms.

"But what about the Master Emerald?" The Echidna protested. "I can't leave it alone with him onboard." He added, gesturing towards Eggman who stood out of ear shot.

"I'll be happy to watch over it for a while Red." Rouge told him. She was still in her revealing swim suit so any attempt he made at a reply game out garbled. "I promise, Eggy over there won't lay a finger on it." The bat added, putting a hand softly on his check. Sonic could swear for a second he looked about as red as it was physically possible to get.

"Are you sure about that?" Tails asked Cosmo as Sonic and Knuckles began negotiating, with fists in the air. "What sort of Darkness was it?"

"The same I saw him stand against the first time." She replied, sitting down. Tails paused, before sitting down beside her. "I just know, for a fact, that something terrible will happen if he goes to that island." He read his look. "I don't know what it is, I just know it'll be terrible." There was a fear in her eyes so to calm her down and without even thinking about it, Tails put his arm around her. It helped and she calmed a down a little.

It wasn't until a moment later when Tails realized what he was doing.

"Oh…er…sorry." He mumbled, retracting his arm. Cosmo just smiled at him.

"Thanks anyway."

After a bit of discussion, Knuckles finally agreed to go, on the condition that Eggman never be left along for so much as one second while he was gone. Since Bean and Bark had taken the X tornado, Tails selected a new plane for the trip. It was one of his old Cyclone types, still in the old blood red colour. Climbing into the ramped seat, the red Echidna looked irritated beyond belief.

"Don't worry red." Rouge told him, leaning on the side of the plane with a seductive look on her face. "They'll be something nice for you to look forward to when you get back." The echidna didn't even have time to reply to that, as Tails pulled his piloting goggles down over his eyes and took control of the plane. The propeller started spinning and with a sudden thrust, the plane soured along the runway at the front of half submerged ship before souring off into the sky.

Cosmo watched them fly away. She was glad Sonic wasn't going, but in truth she would prefer it if none of them ventured to that island, especially Tails. He was the one aboard the ship she felt truly attached to.

"You don't usually let others do the dirty work." Amy told Sonic, who stood there watching the plane disappear off towards land. "You really believe what Cosmo said?" The blue hedgehog shrugged.

"She's been right so far about events, and I don't seen much reason to doubt her visions now." Amy sighed and put his hands behind her head.

"Still seems a bit out of character for you." The blue hedgehog forged a grin.

"Well if it bothers you that much, later I'll do something really heroic, just for you." the pink hedgehog clasped her hands together, her face relapsing into that wide eyed innocent expression she'd been famous for.

"Oh you mean it!"

* * *

-

Things had not been going well. It hadn't taken the ship Okida and Topaz stole from the Machine Federation's air force long to be picked up on radar after a shockwave from the jump drive had made them visible to every Metal X ship for miles. Within minutes, they found themselves being chased by several other ships, each one sufficiently larger than their own.

"LEFT!" Topaz screamed as the dark shadow of the Metal X attack vessel came souring over them. As if plunged his whole weight down on it, Okida sent their ship into a dive, pulling up just short of the trees before jamming the thrusters on full and rocketing forward as hard as the engines could manage. The other big ships, while larger, lacked speed. Their smaller drones however did not, and within moments they had a swarm of them following their trail.

"Sonic sure pissed off these guys." The Major remarked, throwing all his piloting skills into evasive manoeuvres and shots began ringing through the air.

"He does that to a lot of people." Topaz conceded, busy on the terminal next to the vampire bat. "I've got the jump's ion trail on the scanners. I think we can follow it!"

"Now there's the first piece of good news I've heard all day." Then, swinging the controls back around, Okida sent the ship flying straight back towards their pursuers.

"Take the controls!" The major announced, passing them over towards Topaz as he rose out of his seat. "And keep her flying straight into them."

"What on Earth are you doing?" The human called after him, but by the time she had, her superior office had gone out the door, shutting it behind him.

Okida wasted no time advancing though the ship towards the cargo bay where they had housed the Mechs. The ship itself did not have the speed to escape the Metal X drone, nor did it have the fire power to fend them off. Their Mech's on the other hand…

Dropping down into the cargo bay, the major made a direct line the Spider Mech they managed to steal from the Machine Federation air force base. He had already seen first hand that this machine had twice the fire power than either the Raptor or the Yahger. However, the complicated equipment in the cockpit showed that it was anything but user friendly.

"Ok, plan in need of re-think." He told himself, climbing into the pilot's seat and strapping himself in.

With a loud roar, the large door at the back of the ship opened, a ramp slowly descending into the air. Controlling a machine with eight legs was sufficiently harder than a Mech with two Okida was quick to discover as he unsteadily marched the Mech outside. By now, the air was full of laser fire as a swarm of royal blue robotic drones began to surround them. They were here in their dozens, and no matter now many the a ships own weapons shot down another three seemed to take its place.

The spider mech slammed its front four feet in as an anchor, shaking the entire vessel, as several pieces of armour moved aside to reveal missile launcher pads. The multi-targeting system of the technologically advanced Mech locked on to about twenty targets all at once, Okida pressed the button marked 'fire' and instantly the air seemed to filled with a rain of missiles. A second later, the fire works began. Fire reigned everywhere as dozens of drones began falling towards the ground all at once, some colliding with one enough intensifying the flames.

"Keep it up Koji, we've got incoming off the starboard side." Topaz told him through a com link she had hastily set up. She'd used his first name again, Okida thought to himself. Very few people actually called him that. Turning, the spider's head starred off to the side to see another load of Metal X drones closing in fast, not only that but several of those big ships weren't far behind them.

"Oh hello, what do we have here?" The major began, seeing the controls for something called; plasma cannon. Now, he mused, would be a good a time as any to give the technology of this new toy a little test run.

The spider shuddered as its energy core began to build up power and once the level was sufficient, it arched its back, it's metal pincers snapping as dozen flashes of violet lightning passed between them. Light blared brightly out of the mouth as it threw itself forward as a beam of detractive energy lanced forward, shattered the sound barrier with a horrifically loud sonic boom. Most of the Metal X drones saw it coming and veered out of the way. One of the ships behind them however either wasn't fast enough or didn't have time, because it smashed head first into the beam and the destructive energy cut right through it. Parts of the ship flaked off for a moment, before it exploding in a tremendous cloud of smoke, ashes and fire. Now within range, the remaining large ship opened fire, a deadly dose of lasers nearly striking their own vessel across the bow. "We may need an escape route here." Okida told Topaz through their com link.

"Working on it." She replied, frantically using every evasive manoeuvre she knew to keep them from being blown out of the sky. "I've the Typhoon's trail already set up, keep them busy for a few minutes and I think I can have us on our way."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not going to be as easy as it sounds?" The Major asked out load. The plasma cannon needed time to re-charge, so locking onto as many targets as possible Okida firing another volley of missiles straight into their numbers. As sheets of flaming metal began falling around them, the front of the larger ship bushed through the chaos, charging straight at them, all turrets on its underbelly firing non-stop. A couple of shots hit several of the spider Mech's armoured legs and it collapsed to the floor of the ramp.

Forcing the machine up, but with less sturdy legs than before, Okida fired another burst of missiles but in the process used up all his ammunition. Several explosions ran out on the large ship and half of the Drones disappeared in the fire, but it wasn't enough to slow them down completly. "Come on, re-charge already!" The Major said from between clenched teeth as he stared down at the energy gauge for the Mech's main weapon, still only half-full.

The Metal X was nearly on top of them now. If it fired from that vantage point, it couldn't miss.

"I'm almost there, just a few more seconds." Topaz announced.

"We don't have a few more seconds!" The Major replied. "Whatever you plan on doing, do it NOW!" Topaz looked up through the front screen was the tip of the Machine Federation vessel passed overhead. Okida was right, her time was up…but she wasn't ready. She couldn't guarantee the engines could take the strain…right now however she had no choice, the turrets were already rotating around towards them, preparing to fire.

Topaz was never much of gambler, but now she would have to trust to luck. Okida had just managed to get inside and closer the hanger door when Topaz engaged her make shift jump drive. It was by no means as advanced, or as stable as the one Tails and Eggman whipped up for the Blue Typhoon but she knew enough of the science behind it to make one, and the hardware had been available onboard. Now it was time to see if it worked.

The air rippled as the device took effect and the hole in the sky opened, a torn rip that their ship began to pass through, but as Topaz feared the hole wasn't as stable as she would like. The edges were constantly distorting, being stretched and compressed

It was too late to do anything about it now; they were already half way through and the Metal X ship was following behind. But at its higher altitude, half of it was taken into the porthole and the other half was left outside. The vessel was torn clean in half, what was left outside cascading towards the ground.

"Oh I hate this part!" Okida exclaimed as the entire ship entered the rift and with a sudden flash of light that sealed it behind them, they were gone.

* * *

-

The largest chain in the chain was about the size of Angel Island, covered completely in jungle with a small mountain directly in the centre, peeking out towards the sky. Tails was amazed Metal Sonic had been able to create all this so fast. A entire world filled with abundant life, even more so than Earth.

Perhaps on this base, they would finally find out how he did it, and how he planned to use the synthetic chaos emeralds he was creating.

That is if they could find the base. From the air, all either Tails or Knuckles could see was tree cover. If the data from Leviathan's memory banks was correct, the base was large enough to cover half the island. There simply wasn't enough room for trees to hide a structure that expansive.

Knuckles blinked, spotting something out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he stared down towards the island as Tails brought his plane around the circle it again. He was certain he saw…something. As the plane passed overhead and the light from the sun glared down, the echidna spotted a thin line running diagonally across the tree tops and when they passed over it, the entire island seemed to flip around to face another way.

"Did you see that?" Knuckles asked, but Tails was already staring in that direction. Apparently he had.

"It's a holographic display." He replied, his eyes hidden beneath the glare on his goggles. "No wonder we can't see it." Now with a target, Tails brought the plane down towards the island and landed it on a long rocky ledge jutting high above the beach on it's eastern shore. "Going through it, we might set off an alarm." he explained as Knuckles climbed out of the uncomfortable seat. Tails was still rummaging around through the cockpit, looking for something he'd left inside. After a moment, he pulled out a large cylinder device with a light at the top. It was about the size of his forearm and had a control dial on the side.

"What's that?" Knuckles asked.

"I haven't thought of a name for it yet." Tails replied, tucking it under one arm and using his free hand to put his goggles off his seats. "But, it's just what we need to get through that hologram without telling every Metal X robot in the process."

Instead of heading directly towards the centre of the island where Knuckles had first seen any indication of a protective illusion, they skirted around the outside of it for a while so Tails could get some idea as to how big this hologram actually was. Finally, they stopped in a small clearing. All Knuckles could see where tees, bushes and other flora, but Tails assured him everything about five meters to his right wasn't really there.

Setting the cylinder down in the earth, Tails began pressing buttons on the side and the light on the top blinked on, flashing bright yellow. "Ok, now my invention will cause a disruption in the illusion, probably no bigger than a few feet wide, but enough for the two of use to get through." The fox began, looking back towards the Echidna for a moment. "When you see the door, go for it 'cause I got no idea how long it's going to remain open." Knuckles nodded and Tails got back to work.

After a moment of silence, a short buzzing caught their attention and in the middle of the air, everything just seemed to bend to one side before an opening of some kind revealed itself, the edge of it rippling like the surface of water.

Knuckles didn't hesitate. He simply ran through the opening as quickly as he could, but had to stop dead in astonishment once he was inside. The hologram was hiding a citadel, a colossal sprawling base that curved down in a crater of some kind to a hole directly in the middle. Around the outside edge of this small mechanical city was giant towers with curved dishes on the top. Thick metal cables, each the size of a car lead down from each and every one to the centre itself. At least half the island was covered in this thing, and it all kept from sight and detection by the holo-camouflage.

"Woah…" Tails began, stepping through to see it all himself.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Knuckles replied, his eyes wide in awe.

"This, er, may…take a while longer then I anticipated." The fox admitted, stretching the spot behind his left ear. He looked up towards the tower lining the outer edge. "Those must be collecting all the life-form energy from around the planet, sucking it down into some kind of batteries for use in their experiments."

"So let's trash them!" Knuckles suggested, flexing both arms.

"Not a good idea." Tails told him. "We still have to find out if they managed to successfully clone a Chaos Emerald. You go into demolition mode too early and the security will lock the base down so tight not even air could through." Knuckles actually looked disappointed for a minute.

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Metal X

Description: The army belonging to Metal Sonic, the drones of the Machine Federation.


	40. Episode 20, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2;

**Name:** The Machine Federation

**Description:** Metal Sonic's own empire, the drones the army itself are the ones called the Metal X. The Machine Federation is divided into four clans, the Ground forces, the navy, the air force and Space force. Each of his general's commanders one clan. The surviving members, Lancelot and Dark Oak are leaders of the Air force and Space force.

* * *

- 

The entrance to the interior of the Machine Federation base turned out to be a small entrance hatch leading down from the base of one of the energy collection towers. It was used by technician robots to do maintenance on the towers, but was large enough for them to fit through.

Tails had paused outside long enough to send a message back to the Blue Typhoon, reporting on what they found and to let them know they were going in for a closer look.

The climb down was long and would have tried them both, had they both not been used to extreme heights. The inside of the hatch was a pipe barley a meter of so wide, with a metal ladder. Thick cables ran downwards as well, disappearing into the darkness below.

"Not a sound." Tails told Knuckles as they reached a certain height, as Tails noticed some security measures had been placed around. The echidna nodded and they continued downwards. The only light came from the occasional electronic bulb here and there along the wall, enough to leave disturbing black shadow everywhere they looked.

Finally reaching the bottom of the laser, Tails emerged out onto a completely concrete corridor; a metal grating ran along with it on both the ceiling and the floor. Pipes emitting a soft hum criss-cross along the walls. One of them had a crack in it and a strange thick, white mist was pouring out, filling the air.

If the fox had read the layout of the construction right, then all the energy those towers were collecting was being channelled to the centre. That had to be where the Chaos Emerald cloning experiments were taking place. Of course, they still had to find out in which direction that was. Knuckles followed the fox down and the paused the corridor for a while, whispering to each other to try and create a plan. Their voices were kept as low as possible. Metal Sonic could have rigged this entire place with sound monitors.

"The centre was off in this direction." Tails told the Echidna, gesturing off down the corridor to their left. "But the security features are probably going to get worse the further we go in. And remember…" He added, seeing the look on Knuckles' face. "No hitting anything until we get there…got it?"

"Right." The Echidna sighed reluctantly and the two of them got underway.

Surprisingly, there where very few robots patrolling the corridors. Only a few large mechanical insects crossed their path, but these seemed to be in the nature of technicians. When one passed by, a large millipede like machine with a pair of long metal arms at the front; they watched it stop to repair a damaged pipe before carrying on. It seemed to be totally oblivious to them, as if they didn't even exit. It just ignored them and carried on its way.

They doubted the security cameras would do the same. Whenever they sighted one ahead in the corridor, they had to circle around in its blind underside slowly and silently before carrying on. Large shutter doors would often bar their way, forcing them to find alternative routes through the underground metal maze. They could not afford to start breaking down doors now.

Finally they came to what Tails expected was the high security section. A reinforced metal door bared their way, and out only open for machines that went in and out and from the momentary glimpse they got of the corridor beyond, traversing it unseen would not be easy.

"How close to the centre do you think we are?" Knuckles asked under his breath. Tails paused, looking hesitant.

"Probably not too far, this new section must surround it completely." The fox replied, watching as a humanoid robot, most likely a guard of some kind came marching out from around a corner and made for the door. Once there it stopped dead still and waited for several seconds, before the doors opened and it stepped inside. Almost snapping at the machines heals the doors slammed shut. "I think I can hack my way in." Tails announced, noticing an interface panel on the side of the towering door frame. "Only problem is, once I do it'll so up on their system and the next time they do a security check they'll notice it."

"How long would that be?"

"No more than ten minutes at the most." The Echidna was silent for a moment.

"Fine, go ahead. Ten minutes should be more than enough." The fox nodded and edged his way towards the door while Knuckles stood watch at the corridor's entrance, getting an eye on all the routes that came in this direction so he could see anything that tried to approach.

The code locking the door turned out to be a lot more complex than it first appeared and it took Tails a full minute to finally get around it. Finally there was a soft click and the doors slid to one side.

"Alright, we're on the clock now, let's go!" Knuckles nodded and quickly the door of them proceeded through the door.

They didn't have to go far beyond it to find the centre. Most of that section second was hollow, a giant caesium that they couldn't even see the bottom of. Curving platforms and corridors ran around the outside edges and a multitude of robots were busy doing various tasks on them. Directly in the centre of the empty space were ten glass pillars, all full of a glowing blue liquid that illuminated the entire giant chamber. The cables that lead down from the towers above curved down the inside of the caesium to the bottom of those pillars were a very loud hum was coming from. Looking upwards, they could see the large hole they had spotted when they came in. This was clearly the centre of the base. A large selection of infra-red lasers crossed in a grid above, leaving no room for either of them to get through.

"We don't have time to walk." Tails remarked, seeing a very, very long set of metal ramps and ladders leading down towards the ground floor. They'd never be able to get down those in ten minutes. "Come on, let's go this way." He added, gently climbing over the edge of the railing, his twin-tails already tensed for flight. Knuckles nodded and followed suite.

Knuckles managed to float down, using his spread arms and dreadlocks to slow his fall while Tails followed him down. They had to angle their decent to keep themselves out of range of detection by any of the robots working around them. Once past them however they simply let themselves drop for a couple of hundred feet or so before they finally saw the bottom of the pit.

It was a curved floor, were all the cables merged together into one in a giant tangle. Above this mess as a flat, Hexagon shaped platform where the ten glass pillars began. Landing on the edge of the platform, they both got a first hand glimpse of the Machine Federation's grand project. In nine of the pillars, floating there above them were first sized jewels, all grass green They were glowing, but not with white light like most Chaos Emeralds. Their light was an ugly raven black.

The only true Chaos Emerald lay in the tenth pillar, directly in the centre, wires lancing away from it to all the others.

Two humanoid robots were there doing technician jobs, but as soon as Knuckles and Tails set foot on the platform they turned towards them. One of them fell, with the Echidna's fist embedded in its face. The other tried to raise the alarm, but Tails tripped it up and once it was on the floor, Knuckles moved in for the kill.

"Something's wrong here." Tails remarked, looking up at the collection of cloned Emeralds. They looked like the real McCoy in the middle, yet it wasn't just their different glow that set them apart. The others seemed…uglier than the rest. There was now other word to describe it. They seemed more black than green.

Knuckles, who was used to the tingle of Chaos Energy could tell something was amiss as well. Their energy pulse, it was all wrong. It took a moment, but then he knew was it was.

"Negative." He stated, earning him a quizzical look from Tails. "Those fakes contain nothing but Negative Chaos Energy, I can feel it."

Chaos Energy had two sides, a Positive and a Negative. One side was triggered by emotions such as anger and rage, while the other could be used by other means. Knuckles was right, according to the reports already on the screen of the terminal embedded in the machinery, all Metal X had succeeded in doing was creating Emerald's filled with nothing but negative Chaos energy.

Even so, they were still extremely dangerous, and nine of them made their existence a serious problem.

"Look at this." Tails remarked in awe as he worked on the terminal. Knuckles walked over and looked over his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Details of some of the other experiments Metal X was performing on this planet." The fox replied, his fingers busy typing away as fast as he could on the small console. A holographic display appeared above them, a projection of what lay on the screen "Just look at it!" Tails exclaimed. Metal X had kept themselves busy with the advanced technology they stole from Doctor Eggman, who in turn had dug it out of the frozen Canadian tundra. According to what lay here, Metal Sonic himself had been engaging in the experimentations, which branched from the obvious Chaos Emerald cloning all the way to results in weapons testing. Copied Chaos control was also on their agenda, as well as many attempts at genetic engineering.

"Genetics?" Knuckles repeated, looking at him with wide eyes. "That'll explain the Mammoths we saw back on the Tundra."

"And the other animals on this planet that should be extinct." Tails added. "But that doesn't make sense. What would machines do with Genetics' technology? They don't have any D.N.A to fool around with."

Knuckles put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps they were trying to become more than machines." Tails sighed and shook his head.

"But Metal Sonic hates organic life." He stated frankly.

"It doesn't have to be Metal Sonic who had the idea." The Echidna ventured. "Maybe one of his General's had ambitions." Tails was silent. He stood there collecting his thoughts, trying to piece the puzzle together. If Metal Sonic wasn't the one behind the genetics' grand purpose, then which General was it? Equinox or Leviathan, the two they had already destroyed. Or perhaps Lancelot, or maybe even Dark Oak himself?

"All this won't be good news in the long run." The fox said eventually, glancing up at the fake emeralds above. "We have to shut this place down." The Echidna grinned sadistically, cracking his knuckles suggestively.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Knuckles drew a fist back and smashed the centre pillar open. All the liquid contained within came coursing down in a water wall and catching the green Chaos Emerald that flowed with it, the Echidna backed off as the rest of the pillar shattered and the platform nearly got drenched.

"Right, now let's deal with these things." Tails remarked, preparing to go to work on the controls. The tips of his fingers were an inch above the keys when suddenly, alarms began blaring around them and the blue glow changed to red. Knuckles looked around in a confused daze, clutching the Chaos Emerald in one hand.

"Oh crap!" He cursed. The ten minutes were up, the Metal X security system had detected their presence. Before Tails could do anything, a metal panel came slamming down over the controls, sealing them away.

_"__Security breech, lab core compromised. All security drones converge on core."_ An emotionless, computer synthesised voice announced over a set of hidden loud speakers somewhere in the chamber.

Outside, the hologram protecting the base from detection flickered before dissipating completely.

* * *

- 

Cosmo had spent a lot of time outside the Blue Typhoon since Tails left, staring up at the Martian sky above, trying piece everything together in her head. Regardless of the purpose that had drawn her here, she still felt confused.

Maginaryworld was so very different to this reality, the physics, the culture and the local flora and fauna. Still, she had a made a decision to come here and she couldn't go back now, not even if she wanted to. She hadn't the energy required to open a dimension rift a second time.

Her family was an influential and famous bloodlines of seers, which was why they sat at Queen Illumina's side. Her siblings were all skilled in divination, but she had not. She could not control when and where the visions came, nor had she any passion to learn. Ever since she was born she'd wanted to travel to other realities, like the scout parties she'd read about. Her people frequently travelled to different dimensions and she had wanted to follow suite.

In true family tradition, her elders had forbid it. Yet secretly, she had made plans to leave. Then the vision came. In her sleep, she saw the Speedster and the Shade, two halves of one whole. Combined, they fought together against a very powerful enemy, one completely wrapped in darkness, possessing unlimited amounts of hatred. It was dream…no…nightmare, which had driven her to come here.

No one believed her about her vision; she was considered a low rate seer and was dismissed. But Cosmo knew with every ouch of her soul that what she saw had been a warning of some kind. It had also given her instinctive knowledge, for as soon as she heard about this dimension and the war Void had waged in it, she knew it was there she had to go.

Travelling dimensions takes a great deal of energy. Ancients, such as Void or even Illumina herself can do it because over the eons they built up reserves of power. Cosmo was barely even a decade old and travelling here had taken every ounce of strength she could muster. She hadn't the energy needed to travel back now.

In a sense, she supposed she'd accomplished her ambition. Here she was, in a different reality just like she'd planned.

However she still mused at her own usefulness here. What could she do besides get in the way of the others? She had to figure out why she alone had been given the vision. She had to know exactly what she was here to do. Sighing, she picked herself back up and made her way over towards Big the cat. The purple feline was sitting on the edge of the ship still trying his luck.

A small pile of fish bones lay to one side, showing that he hadn't done too badly.

"Oh, I got a big one!" The cat suddenly declared as the fishing rod was nearly yanked out of his hand.

"Rippit!" The frog on his shoulder remarked, hopping up and down.

"It's gotta be a whopper!" Big added, digging his feet into the deck of the typhoon as much as he could, before engaging with a power struggle with the fish on the end of his line. "Yeow!" The rod was roughly pulled out of the cat's grip and would have soured overboard if Cosmo, acting on instinct rather than anything else, hadn't lunged forward and grabbed it.

Unfortunately the strength of the fish was so immense she was nearly pulled off herself, had Big not caught her foot in time.

"You weren't kidding, what did you catch, a whale?" She asked, holding onto the handle of the rod while Big pulled her back in.

Down in the waters before the Typhoon, their prize was splashing about trying to break free. As it tossed and turned on the water's surface they could see it had a long spinney fin down its back.

With her help, Big reeled his prize in inch by inch, before finally heroically pulling it over the side of the ship and placing his catch down before them to admire. And what a catch it was. The fish had to be at least a foot long, with a fin down its back and a sword like spike on the end of its snout.

"Thanks for the help." The cat told her, sitting down to gut his new meal. Usually cat's ate their meals whole, then spat out the bones. Big didn't have a large enough mouth however and so had to cut the thing into more manageable chunks. "Want some?" He asked. Cosmo looked more green than usual and turned away and scaled and fish guts starting flying.

"Er…no thank you." She replied. "I…just ate."

As Big proceed to tear his catch apart with his hands, Cosmo wandered back into the ship still lost in her thoughts. Not really thoughts of anything in particular, just a jumbled mess of emotion that needed to be sorted out.

Or, more important she admitted to herself, she had to figure out exactly what she felt for one of the crew. She never so much as had a crush before, so something like this was a little new to her.

Unfortunately however she was not sure for how long she would get to stay in this dimension. She was sure that her family would find out where she was eventually, and they would drag her back whether she wanted to go or not. She had contemplating asking him to go with her, but dismissed the notion. This was his home, it would be wrong of her to ask him to leave simply because she would miss him.

"Shadow's the one who does the melancholy look." A voice stated. Cosmo looked up to see Rouge the bat standing before her. "It doesn't look so good on you." She added with a short smile.

"Sorry. Just had a bit on my mind." She replied, walking along side the she-bat. "I guess I'm still a little new to all this."

"You get used to it after a while." Rouge told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It just seems like one thing after another when you end up going around with this group." Cosmo remained silent. Perhaps that was she needed, time to get used to everything before it felt like the norm.

Something occurred to her and she had to stop. Looking back at her life before she left Maginaryworld, she saw exactly how sheltered it had been. Most of everything she had ever needed had been given to her. This dimension was far harsher, yet somehow far more appealing than the one she was native to. "Something wrong?" Rouge asked, looking back.

"Er…no nothing." The green haired girl replied before quickly following her.

"We have a problem." Eggman announced, a sudden alarm blinking angrily on the console in front of him as Rouge and Cosmo walked onto the bridge. "I'm detecting a ship coming in on a jump drive." That second part gained everyone's attention. The jump drive was something unique to the Blue Typhoon. Sonic looked up as the air high above the water began rippling, shaking like mad before it finally tore down the centre. As soon as the rift was fully open, a ship with the Machine Federation Icon on the side came souring out of it, followed by half of another ship, but this fell into the ocean as soon as it was chucked out of the porthole. The intact ship hadn't been too well treated by the jump either; it was in a tail spin, coursing down towards the ocean before it pulled up at the last second and came in for a belly landing on the water.

Being not was big as the blue Typhoon, all it managed to stick above the surface was the bow, black smoke rising from the wreckage scattered everywhere.

"We're getting a signal." Chuck reported, before a holographic displayed flashed up before them, showing a familiar face.

"Blue Typhoon, are you there?" It was Topaz, trying to fix signal with the concealed ship.

"Hey Topaz, you look a little worse for wear." Rouge remarked with a thick smile. "You look like someone dragged you through a mud puddle." The human looked intensely relieved.

"Incoming!" Eggman declared before anyone could say anything else. Almost instantly after way, a thick black shadow began to pass over them. Sonic barred his teeth and looked upwards to see a colossal ship hovering over them and to make it worse, it had the Machine Federation Icon on the side. "Dark Oak! Dammit!" The Doctor cursed, recognising the ship belonging to the most powerful of Metal Sonic's generals. As always, standing on the tip of the bow, looking down towards the crashed ship with his arms crossed was the General himself, his double grey cape flapping out in the wind behind him. His single, Cyclops eye was glowing bright green. As if that wasn't enough, another shadow crossed over them as the mechanical dragon that served as the mount of Lancelot passed by. Followed by a colossal succession of ships, thousands of them. Dark Oak had obviously taken time to replenish his troops after their last encounter. It looked like the Egg Fleet all over again. Nearly every ship belonging to the Federation had to be here.

The dragon roared loudly and on the top of its head they could see the second general himself, before the beasts wings spread out to their maximum width before souring away off towards the island chain, followed by at least a dozens more ships.

"Shadow, you sure picked a great time to disappear." Sonic remarked under his breath.

"Those idiots must have tripped the alarms at the base!" The Doctor snarled, clenching and unclenching his fists.

_"The engines still aren't back on-line doctor!"_ Becoe reported._ "We can't get away."_ Their situation looked bleak. They couldn't run, and if they tried to fight, the overwhelming fire power of that fleet above them would rip them apart. All they could do was sit still and hope the holo-camouflage was enough to hide them.

"We're sitting ducks over here." Topaz commented. "Little help?"

"Play Possum!" Eggman told her.

Sonic watched Lancelot disappear off towards the island chain. Something must have gone wrong for Tails and Knuckles. They were in deadly danger now. Everything Cosmo had ever told him disappeared out of his head. His only concern how were getting his two friends out of that place alive.

* * *

- 

(In Chris voice)

It's one big free for all as the climax of the Metal X saga begins. It's Lancelot V Sonic and Knuckles, but do the two mobians have what it takes one of Metal Sonic's best? And what happens when the energy inside the negative Chaos Emeralds is unleashed? Find out next time on Sonic X, Darkness of the Heart….part 1! Don't miss it!


	41. Episode 21

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 21: Darkness of the Heart, part 1

* * *

- 

Metal X security androids were on top of them before they knew what was happening. Humanoid robots, clad in royal blue battle armour and armed with laser rifles seemed to be everywhere at once. Knuckles sent each one flying with one of his infamous punches, but more just seemed to be coming out of the woodwork.

"We've got to get out of here now!" Tails exclaimed, jabbing a finger up towards the gapping sky light high above them. Knuckles nodded, before his fist smashed the head of a robot open like a watermelon. Turning, he tossed the green Chaos Emerald in his hand up towards Tails.

"Go, get that thing outta here, I'll hold them off!" The Echidna stated, before almost literally throwing him into the fray, two robots going under with a flurry of super strong punches.

Tails hovered there in mid air, a chaos Emerald in his grasp. They had to get the Chaos Emerald away from the Machine Federation, but he couldn't just leave the Echidna to face such overwhelming odds. "Move it, I'll be fine!" Knuckles shouted up, dodging around a swing from an android. Tails looked down at the jewel in his hands, before turning and making a direct line upwards towards the sky above.

Knuckles watched him go, before deflecting a punch from a robot. These new Metal X robots were a lot tougher than the ones Eggman came up with, but they weren't without their weakness. The extra armour and weaponry made them slow and that was something very easily exploited in battle.

And against him, their armour didn't do them much good anyway. Smashing a fist forward, the spurs on the end of his hand sank through the metal. Spinning around, the Echidna tossed the robot over his shoulder directly into another oncoming three.

A second tried to attack from behind, aiming the barrel of a laser rifle at Knuckles' head. Ducking under the shot, the Echidna shot back, smashing the metallic knee caps off the legs before shoving the robot to the side. A loud cracking fill the air, before the legs broke in two and the machine collapsed to the floor.

Tails discovered that the inside of the base had laser turrets, which activated when he accidentally flew through an infra-red detection grid. Several round metallic devices rose out of the walls, before rotating around to face the intruder. Bright yellow laser blasts flew through the air and Tails had to use every aerial trick he'd ever learned to out pace them.

Souring upward, several flight capable Metal X drones barred his way, charging their own weapons preparing to fire. The young fox kept going and shot past them before they had the change. Now behind them, they opened fire, one beam narrowly missing his arm.

The final attempt to keep him from leaving was a Spider Mech. It came clambering over the side of the bases centre, all eight legs keeping it pinned to the wall. Sighting Tails, it turned and opened its mouth, preparing to fire its plasma cannon, purple lightning burning across its front end as power began to accumulate. Tails stopped dead, there was no way he could outdistance or avoid that.

Just as the spider was about to fire, another attack lanced out of nowhere, striking the giant metal insect straight on the back, the intensity of the energy beam tearing it in half in seconds. Tails had to cover his eyes and bits of charged metal went flying everywhere.

_"That defective machine almost destroyed the lab."_ A voice stated. Looking up, Tails backed off to the wall as a giant shadow fell over him. Flying above, blocking out the sun was a mechanical dragon, its wings spread out wide, the head on top of a long neck full of steal teeth. Standing on the top of this head looking down towards them was one of the Metal X General's. Built very much like a knight, Lancelot was head of the Machine Federation air force. His armour was shining silver and on one arm he can a curved shield. Like wings, a pair of curved blades angled downwards from his shoulder pads and out the back between them was a long tail. _"There is no escape."_ The robot told Tails, his mechanical mount a descending closer. _"Hand over the Chaos Emerald."_

There was a loud whirring sound and a colossal trap door on the front of the Blue Typhoon opened upwards and the Turtle Mech rose into view, the cannon protruding out the back of its shell already in its firing position.

"Sonic, what the hell do you think your doing!" Eggman demanded, but by then it was two late. The blue hedgehog had already started spinning inside the gun, a increasingly steadfast glow beginning to leak out of the cannon's tip. Amy who was sitting in the Walker's cockpit activating the machines weapon system and aimed directly towards the metal Dragon hovering over the island in the distance. There was only going to be one attempt to get this right. Lighting began sparking widely up and down the length of the Mech as the power reached critical mass. Eggman looked down at the controls and gauges in front of him in alarm. Sonic was channelling energy from the Emeralds in the energy core into his attack, making this shot twice as powerful as the one he used to destroy Leviathan. Even so, if he fired it would give their position away to Dark Oak.

"Sonic, WAIT!" Cosmo called out but it was already too late; Amy had already pulled the trigger. The whirring reached its zenith and in one spectacular light show and like a bullet, Sonic went flying out of the cannon, spinning around so fast he nearly created a hurricane. Fuelled by the excess energy of five Chaos Emeralds, he broke the sound barrier several times before smashing through the camouflage that kept the ship hidden and on his way. Dark Oak looked up as he saw the speeding hedgehog shot past him at an unthinkable speed. As the hedgehog coursed through the air, the water beneath him parted like Moses and the Red sea. He as so fast the atmosphere around him was beginning to burn, giving the spinning hedgehog a very bright orange glow. The shockwave finally hit the Machine Federation's vessel and Dark Oak was nearly knocked off the side of his own ship by the sheer force of it.

Cosmo watched in horror. Sonic had gone to the island despite her warnings of what might happen, now all she could do was hold her breath and hold that for once, her visions were incorrect.

Lancelot looked up when he heard the sonic boom and in that same second, Sonic collided with full force into the side of his Dragon. The metal beast screeched as the blue hedgehog tore through it like paper, smashing through one side and coming out the other in a spray of fire and shards of metal. Lancelot exclaimed and looked down at his dragon, who was frantically thrashing about in the air. Sonic had pierced its energy core and now its reactor was achieving a critical failure.

The result was like someone had dropped tons of solid concrete onto the top of a Nuclear PowerStation. Beams of light slashed out through the cracks running over the machine, sparks of loose energy travelled around its form before finally with one cataclysmic effort the entire thing exploded. A blinding white light erupted in the air and Lancelot was completely consumed by it as it expanded rapidly outwards. Tails was thrown towards back into the giant laboratory below him as the shockwave hit his body and he dropped the Chaos Emerald in the process.

The jewel sparkled in the air, before falling with him. Tails would have caught it again, but the force from the explosion threw him back against the wall and he hit his head against it and instantly he was knocked unconscious.

As he fell, a bright blue blur came rocketing down from the opening above, rebounded off the side of the wall and caught him, before spinning around, rebounding off the other side of the gap and catching the Chaos Emerald in his remaining hand.

Knuckles smashed another two fists to his sides, tearing a hole through two robots when another two came at him from front and behind. With no way to defend, they smashed into him at once. He felt a couple of ribs break and when they backed off, he collapsed to his knees, the reluctant beginnings of tears building up at the edge of his eyes. Looking up, the Echidna saw one of the last Metal X standing over him, holding a laser rifle. Deliberately, it lowered its weapon and aimed the barrel directly between the Echidna's eyes.

Before it could fire, a kick came out of nowhere, slicing its head off. Knuckles looked up to the side as Sonic landed beside him with an unconscious Tails in one hand and a Chaos Emerald in the other. Nimbly the blue hedgehog tossed the jewel over towards Knuckles and now with one hand free, he arched his arm before throwing it forward.

"Sonic Wind!" The swirling blue vortex of the hedgehog's attack tore through the robots like a thousand knives through butter. All of them were lifted like toys off the air and cut to pieces before dumped back again.

"Is he ok?" Knuckles asked, propping himself up to one knee. Sonic looked down at the orange furry bundle he had tucked under one arm. He quickly checked him over. Apart from a few cuts and bruises he was fine. As if to verify it, Tails opened one eye and looked around clumsily, clearly knocked into a daze.

"Yeah he'll be fi…" Freezing in mid sentence, Sonic paused and looked up towards the remaining nine glass pillars above them. His gaze was locked onto the cloned emeralds there, all of them more black then green. Their energy signature cut through him like a knife and he couldn't help but shudder. "Are those…" He began. Knuckles just nodded, trying to pull himself up to his feet but found it a little too painful.

"That's them alright." The Echidna stared at Sonic, noticing the horrified awe on his face. "They contain nothing but Negative Chaos energy." The blue hedgehog looked back at him.

"Metal Sonic was planning to use these?" Knuckles nodded. Sonic felt a lump wheeling in his throat at the thought. He had used Chaos Emeralds all the time, and none of them had felt anything like these. The radiating pulse coming from these things was powerful, yet made him sick to his stomach. "Come on, Dark Oak can't be too far behind. Let's just trash these things before he gets here."

Knuckles took the dizzy Tails and Sonic let both hands now free trail out in front of himself he gathered energy, preparing to destroy all the equipment here with one last Sonic Wind attack.

Before he could, someone smashed into him full force with a powerful kick from behind as he sent flying over the platform to collide with the side of the machinery.

"You're still alive!" Knuckles exclaimed. Sonic rubbed the top of his head to send the throbbing pain away, before shooting around, to find Lancelot standing there. The explosion of his dragon had not been kind on his body. One arm had been completely ripped off and half of one of his wings had been demolished. Cracks and small holes riddled his armour, half of his helmet was now scorched black and his thin tail had completely disappeared, a smouldering stump between his wings was all that was left of it now.

Sonic looked stunned. That explosion should have destroyed him.

Lancelot raised his free hand and tugged by some unseen force; the Green Chaos Emerald yanked itself out of Knuckles hand and flew straight into the General's waiting palm. Once in his grasp, energy began to flow from the jewel straight into Lancelot's body. The robot's entire form was suddenly surrounded by a white light and Sonic had to cover his eyes from the glare. Knuckles watched as the robot's arm re-grew out of nothing and the cracks running like a web over his body began to recede backwards before disappearing all together. The tail flew out behind him with a sudden swish, now with a barbed spike on the end. The blades that served as wings twisted sickeningly before lancing outwards, transformed into complex, multi-joined constructions like the wings of his former Dragon. Completing the transformation, the armour changed from silver to emerald green.

Then the glow died away and transformed Lancelot stood before them. His form had changed, now his body was far less bulky and the armour more streamlined. In the centre of its head, the flat top angled forwards like a giant eye was the Chaos Emerald he'd used. Now he looked like a green version of Dark Oak with wings.

_"The destruction of both Equinox and Leviathan will not go unanswered."_ The General stated; trailing one hand out before clenched a fist, the ringing clang of metal on metal resonating through the chamber.

"You know, you guys are going to get into a lot of trouble with Metal Sonic." The blue hedgehog retorted. On the inside however, Sonic began to worry intensely. Metal X generals were trouble even without a Chaos Emerald backing them up. Equinox had used the red one to transform himself into a near unstoppable titan. There was no telling just how strong Lancelot was now.

Suddenly, darkness engulfed them all as something large above flew in front of the sun. Lancelot looked up to see Dark Oak's ship hovering above, followed by the rest of the fleet he had brought with him. _"Better late than never brother."_ Lancelot commented as the others stared up at it in horror, seeing the first of Metal Sonic's general's standing on the bow, looking down at them. _"I will deal with these three. Just keep those others away from here._" High above, Dark Oak nodded. Until a time when situation dictated otherwise, Sonic and those others down there were Lancelot's prey.

"Those last two were pushovers." Sonic remarked, descending into a fighting stance, his hands cupped beside him. "Let's see how you do." His fingers arched and instantly the swirling vortex of a Sonic Wind crashed forward. Lancelot simply held his hand up and the blue swirling attack simply diverted to one side away from him. Before Sonic could react, the general sped forward and landed a bone crushing punch against the blue hedgehog's head. Knocked sideways Sonic left himself open. Lancelot grabbed his foot and then swung him repeatedly over his shoulder, smashing him again and again into any nearby solid object before finally tossing him into the air. As the blue hedgehog hung there above, Lancelot fired his own energy attack that screamed upwards and struck Sonic will full force. An explosion occurred and the hedgehog was thrown down into the ground, his quills smouldering.

Knuckles charged, swinging the strongest punch he could manage with a couple of broken ribs. Lancelot dodged around the swings with near 'sonic' like reflexes before landed what looked like a slap against the side of the Echidna's chest. Knuckles staggered back, gasping for air. That one single tap had stunned him, try as he might he would move any part of his body.

Lancelot had no pity and grabbed Knuckles by one of his arms. Spreading his large wings, the Metal X general soured up into the air, flying up to a good height before swinging the Echidna round and around, before letting go, sending him back into the ground with a loud crash.

Sonic shoved a few fallen pieces of machinery of him and somersaulted back to his feet.

Wasting no words, the hedgehog soured up the side of the wall until he as level with Lancelot, before bounding off going for a tackle. Suddenly, Lancelot disappeared completely and Sonic ended up hitting his head against the wall on the far side. Rebounding, Sonic sped up into the air again to find the General there waiting for him. Before he could do anything to defend himself, Lancelot smashed a kick into his stomach, then a flurry of punches before finally finishing it with a painful lash to his side with his tail. The barbed edge caught itself on Sonic's skin and ripped it open; blood flew out into the air and the blue hedgehog yelled out in pain, before Lancelot's hand shot forward, grabbing him by his neck, silencing his scream in his throat.

_"Your skills aren't what they're cracked up to be." _The general told him, before smashing a punch into Sonic's stomach with his free hand. Sonic tried to cry out, but the metal finger around his throat stopped him. All he could do was hang there, his mouth open and eyes wide in pain. Suddenly a blur of red came up from behind the General and struck him across the back of the head. Lancelot shuddered violently before he released his grip on the blue hedgehog, who finding a little strength left re-bounded off the platform floor and smashed a kick straight into Lancelot's chest plate. The machine Federation leader went spiralling through the air before smashing to the side of a wall, clouds of brick dust flying up into the air.

"Owe you one buddy." Sonic shouted back to Knuckles, who was standing there trying to catch his breath. The Echidna simply sent him a thumbs up. Turning back, the two of them watched as bits of brick and dust went flying and Lancelot emerged, already in a fighting stance.

His wings spread and instantly it as in the air, firing several missiles hidden inside his body right at them. Sonic dodged around several, before kicking the others back towards their origin with a kick. Lancelot dived under the projectiles before souring down towards sonic with his arms spread.

Knuckles dived in from above and grabbed the general by the head and proceeded to pummel away at his head, trying to dislodge the Chaos Emerald from the centre. Lancelot grabbed him by his tail and slashed him across the chest with his talons several times before blasts him away with an energy attack. Trailing smoke, the Echidna crashed into the ground and did not get up again.

Sonic dived in with a kick, that Lancelot dodged around before trying a volley of super fast punches. The general blocked them all before throwing a punch of his own, sonic deflected it then dodged under a kick.

The tail caught him by surprise, flying around from Lancelot's back, wrapping itself around his leg, before lifting him off his feet. This time, sonic was ready for that kind of move. Curving his body around, he started spinning and with his tail stuck on his leg, Lancelot started spinning with him.

Sonic took the general for a ride, sending the both of them crashing through anything solid that was nearby. Lancelot finally managed to release him, grabbed the spinning Sonic like a ball and then proceeded to slam dunk it through a wall.

While the dust was still flying up, the general gathered his energy in both hands and lanced a strong energy blast straight into the hole Sonic had made. A rumbling sound began rising, before the wall collapsed, burying the blue hedgehog under a lot of rubble.

Suddenly, at Lancelot's surprise, Sonic shot out again with another spin with collide itself with the general chin, forcing him to stagger backwards.

"Come on…I'm just getting warmed up." Sonic stated, although being severely out of breath he didn't sound to convincing.

Lancelot, who seemed to be running high with his Chaos Emerald power source spread his wings and flew forward at an unbelievable speed. The blue hedgehog couldn't dodge in time and took the full force of the tackle.

Lancelot soured into the air with the blue hedgehog in toe, flying at high as he could within the lab core before swinging his opponent around several time, smashing his body against anything nearby before, smashing him back down towards the ground with a blow to the back. As Sonic fell, Lancelot fired a barrage of energy attack downward hastening Sonic's descent.

The blue hedgehog collided with the ground and dust flew up everywhere, leaving Sonic lying there face up, now nearly half dead.

Looking up, he saw Lancelot standing over him, talons raised.

_"__Now, this is what the master should have done in the first place."_ The general stated, before swinging down. At the last second, Tails came flying in, smashing a kick into Lancelot's arm, deflecting the strike so it hit the ground several inches to the left on Sonic's head.

Angry, Lancelot grabbed Tails by the leg and held him up high. Sonic tried to get up and stop it, but didn't have the energy. Tails tried to fight back, to get away, but he was no match for Lancelot, who let the fox drop a short distance before smashing a super strong punch into his head.

"TAILS!" Sonic called after him as the fox flew through the land, rolled along the ground before coming to a stop next to the unconscious Knuckles. The metal X general raised the arm faced him, sparks of the beginning of an energy attack building between his fingers.

It was in that instant, that one second that everything seemed to happen. Anger flooded into Sonic's heart and mind, so overwhelming he couldn't control any of it. Like it was forced on him, it overtook every conscious thought, every whim or idea. Within that second, there was nothing left in Sonic's mind accept rage.

That opened the door.

In his minds eye he could see the figure standing there, clad in burning green fir, burning red eyes fixed upon him. His darkness, his malice was everywhere, swallowing the blue hedgehog up before any chance of a fight could be put up.

The nine fake Chaos Emeralds above him burned with their black light, every ounce of their negative energy now fully awake. Lancelot stopped and looked up as the emeralds Metal X had manufactured glowed brightly, filled the entire chamber with an unearthly dark light.

From his spectator's seat on the bow of his ship, Dark Oak watched curiously as shafts of darkness lanced upwards into the sky from below. None of the tests results preformed during the cloning process had produced such results, so what was causing this reaction?

The skies above, once clear, began darkening as thunders clouds began to accumulate. Big black clouds with lightning passing in between them, the faint tingle of drizzle in the air. The sea boiled and frothed, giant waves smashing into the island chain at full force. Then the rain crashed down, heavy drops of water colliding with the ground like a drum.

With one lurch, the energy leapt from those nine emeralds that crashed down into the battered hedgehog's body. The sheer force of it sent Lancelot flying backwards until he collided into the side of a wall, sinking into the solid matter. New, dark strength following through his body like a river, Sonic slowly picked himself up. Every cut and bruise in his flesh and fur began to heal, closing like a zip. His entire body was outlined by black, with a tinge of blue just around the outside. His face was set in the most horrific sneer, and he clenched and unclenched his fists.

Knuckles opened his eyes and groggily pushed himself up, feeling like every cell in his point was screaming with pain. The tingle of negative Chaos energy flowing through the air was the first thing that brought him back to being aware of the real world.

Looking up, he saw Sonic, standing there covered in darkness, all the energy contained with those fake emeralds flowing directly into him. An unending sea of negative energy, and Sonic was absorbing it all.

"Sonic STOP!" The Echidna called over, but by now it was too late, the blue hedgehog was too far gone. The negative energy had him completely. With smirk still on his face, Sonic crossed his arms in front of his chest, before throwing them out, a final flush of energy rushing into him. There was a bright flash, and what seemed like a pillar of darkness rose upwards into the sky. Knuckles had to cover his eyes at the brightness of it.

"I'm ready an influx of Chaos energy." Eggman reported, every light and alarm on the console in front of him blaring out load. "It's off the scale, and still growing! I'll try to a lock on the…" Before he could finish his sentence the pillar of black shot high into the sky and every pieces of equipment in front of him short circuits, a panel even blew out smacking him in the face.

Dark Oak had to swing his ship around to avoid being hit as it lanced upwards, extending into the sky as far as the eye could see. From the blue Typhoon, they watched in a quiet awe as the darkness shot higher and higher, a never ending pillar of black. Cosmo stared in enlightened horror, for she knew what this heralded. Her visions had shown her plenty.

Even from this distance, Tikal could see it. The darkness towered over the land and as it hit the clouds above, thunder and lightning began sparking wildly across the heavens. Shadow, who as still unconscious lay next to her. His black fur occasionally highlighted by the flashes of lightning from above.

"What the heck?" Hare demanded, glaring up at the pillar in astonishment.

"Oh Sonic…" The female echidna began under her breath. "What have you done?"

Finally the beam dissipated, but the storms around did not. If anything, they got more intense and savage. As if something, lain dormant for years had been unleashed and it was striking out at anything that moved. Knuckles, through sheer determination forced his way to his feet and now stood before Sonic. A Sonic, reborn.

His fur was now jet black, eyes pure white and set in a locked stare full of malice. He seemed to be cloaked in absolute darkness, it swirled around his body, carrying with them all nine of the fake Emeralds. Between the jewels sparked negative chaos energy, tremendously powerful in it's intensity. His outline was covered by a black and royal blue glow, with a faint brush of gold around the outside.

Lancelot roughly tugged his body out of the wall, before dropped to the floor. He shook himself to dislodge pieces of brick between his armour, before turning to confront this new opponent.

_"No theatrics this time."_ A voice from above. Lancelot looked up as Dark Oak dropped down, landed beside him, his dark cloak trailing out behind him. With a flick of his metal wrist, the curved scimitar blade as in his hand._ "We kill him now."_

_

* * *

_

Flip card 1:

Name: Dark Super Sonic

Description: A negative version of Super Sonic, born when too much Negative Chaos energy is present within Sonic's body.


	42. Episode 21, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2;

Name: Topaz

Description: A member of Freelance Division, currently getting a little 'friendly' with their commander, Major Okida.

* * *

Okida found the Spider Mech far more difficult to pilot than his Yahger. While it possessed superior fire power, a lot of concentration was needed to keep all eight legs moving without them tripping over each other. 

Jabbing the front legs of the machine forward, he forced the cargo bays doors of their crashed ship open, a good deal of sea water rushing in, flooding the cargo bay up to the holding area where they housed the other two Mech's. The spider wadded outside, its long legs keeping its main body above the surface.

The ship was in terrible condition. Most of it was submerged beneath the waves. The other half was jutting out into the air, heavy scarred from the dog fight and the crash. The wings had gone, the shattered metallic shards of the remains floating in a collection of debris nearby. The sky above was bathed in a storm cloud, bolts of angry lightning shooting left and right, lighting up the thick cloud cover whenever they emerged. It was raining, heavy drops of water were pounding away at the armour plating of his Walker, the metallic ringing sound they made driving him to distraction. The sea itself was also restless; large and foaming waves were flashing against the Spider's making it that much difficult to pilot. The island chain around them was being battered by the fierce weather; palm trees, shrubs and other flora were torn from the ground by the harsh wind and cast high into the air.

"Topaz..." He called into the Walker's onboard Com-system. "Topaz, come in, this is Okida. Are you alright?" A short buzz of static followed but no one replied. Okida tried again and once more, no answer. The vampire bat left a lump well up in his throat. He turned, sighting the cockpit at the highest point of the ship. It wasn't on fire and there appeared to be no exterior damage, but still who knows what could have happened inside. Suddenly, a reply came through.

"This is Topaz, Major, I'm in one piece." She replied. Okida blew a sigh of relief. "We're in luck sir, the Blue Typhoon is within radio distance, I called them a minute ago, they're close by under a hologram for camouflage. I have the coordinates." The Major hadn't been listening to that last part. He had the Mech climbing over towards the ship before he even knew what he was doing. Slowly, the right first leg of the Spider raised itself out of the water and over towards the hatch marked 'emergency exit'.

"Right then, let's get back onboard." Silence followed, broken only when Topaz opened the hatch, his short pale brown hair lashing around in the fierce wind. Her uniform had been torn in the crash, the sleeves on her left arm gone. Okida pressed a button and the cockpit of the machine, near the unison between all eight legs, opened up with a loud whirring. Slowly, he climbed out and stood on the head. "Come on, I'll catch you." I called over, trying to raise his voice over the howl of the wind. Topaz nodded and began to walk over the leg. It was wet and slippery, but luckily the armour had ridges onto which he could hold onto and prevent a twenty foot fall. Once she was hallway across, Okida edged his way forward, holding his arms open ready to catch her. Topaz judged the distant, before jumping. The second she did however the wind picked up and her jump was shortened, meaning she would never be able to make the distance. Okida, acting on instinct let his wings open out and the wind carried him forwards.

The two of them collided in mid air and quickly the Major wrapped his right arm around her waist before fighting against the air current, his leathery wings beating hard as he forced his way back to the cockpit of his Mech. Finally, with one huge effort he pulled them both back over the edge and into the seat. Then, he used his free hand to close the cockpit, shutting out the elements.

"Er…sir, do you mind?" Topaz asked. Okida looked back at her questioningly. The human female was bright red and looked incredible uneasy. Suddenly the bat noticed that the tips of his fingers were touching her backside, that he hadn't removed his arm from her waist. Blushing uncontrollably, he let her go; looking more embarrassed now then he'd ever been in his life.

"Sorry." He muttered so fast that it came out as gibberish.

* * *

- 

This new Sonic was unlike anything Knuckles had seen before. Not a shred of the hedgehog's old energy signature remained. All the Echidna could fell now was the unrelenting presence of negative Chaos energy.

"Sonic, listen to me!" He called over. The hedgehog, clad in darkness turned slowly to look down at him. His gaze set in stone. "You have to let go of that energy or it's going to destroy you!" The hedgehog remained silent. "I know what Negative Chaos energy can do. It's already hacking away at your mind, eroding who you used to be. It's changing you into something you're not!" To his dismay, the hedgehog's mouth set itself in a smirk. The eyes alight with sadistic humour. "If you value your soul, then do as I say!" For a moment, he looked like the hedgehog was about to respond, when the two remaining Metal X general's attacked.

Both general's charged at once, but by the time they reached Sonic, the hedgehog had disappeared completely. Lancelot nearly ended up crashing into the side of a wall while Dark Oak slammed to a stop in mid, swinging his blade around to block a swing as Sonic shot back, trying to land a punch.

The force with which the hedgehog attacked was tremendous and Dark Oak was forced backwards, inch by inch through the air. Finally the general batted sword away and slid to the side, disengaging the power struggle.

Lancelot came charging in with a flying kick. But the way Sonic moved, it appeared as if both general's were in slow motion. His swing was so fast, Knuckles couldn't even see it. As the green robot came near, Sonic landed several punches and a kick before smashing the machine with deadly force into the floor.

Dark Oak backed off to a safer distance as Sonic hovered there, fists clenched at his side. His long fused quills flapped gently in some non existent wind, sparking with power as the nine fake emeralds hovered in orbit around him. His fur, once royal blue was not completely jet black and his eyes, those eyes were horrifying. Nothing but white, an empty void of nothingness.

Lancelot somersaulted back to his feet and raised both arms, before firing a volley of energy attacks straight at him. Each one curved around in the air before striking at Sonic, only to be absorbed by some curved egg shaped shield covered his entire body. Angrily, Lancelot tried again, firing one long attack that burned up towards Sonic, desperately trying to hit him, but the shield surrounding the hedgehog didn't even flinch.

His wings spreading out wide, Lancelot soured into the air and tried to land a punch, only to find Sonic dodge around it with ease. His Chaos emerald eye glowing brightly, he tried again with a rapid succession, along with several super fast kicks. Again Sonic seemed to flow through them like water. Nothing was able to touch him. Now he was way too fast. Now he was invincible.

Lancelot flew backwards, before cupping his hands above his head. For a second nothing happened and then sparks of energy channelled upwards through his arms began to build within his hands, forming a ball between the fingers. Lighting danced around him as he called forth every piece of available power he could muster and threw his arms forward; firing the most destructive beam of energy he could fire straight forwards.

It collided with Sonic and the hedgehog disappeared in a blinding flash of light. When the beam finally dissipated, Lancelot lowered his arms and dropped to the floor, unable to keep up flight until his energy cells recharged. A great deal of dust and smoke was in the air as silence gripped the moment. Then, it began to dissipate, and the thick concealing mist gave away.

As the dust settled, Sonic remained as stationary as ever, his shield holding and completely unharmed. Then after a moment of silence, he raised his left hand. Lightning sparked between his fingers before he clenched a fist and the sky above seemed to light up, power called down to the heavens, channelled down through the hedgehog's arm, before leaping through the distance and striking Lancelot head on.

The second Metal X general writhed, trying to break free, but the deadly lightning kept up, burning away at his armour, pieces of it flaking off into ash as he staggered backwards.

The first to go were his wings, shattering into pieces before crumbling into a black power. Then his tail and finally all the armour began to dispute.

Sonic let his arm drop and the shattered remains of the General now stood before him. Deep scars ran down his entire body and all his armour flay in ruins around him. All that was left of his defence was the helmet that held the green Chaos Emerald.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at him, before turning away, then swinging back and firing one long beam of energy downwards. It collided with the already defenceless machine. The sheer force of blast tore the arms off Lancelot, then the legs, before finally what was left of him crumbled away into nothing.

Knuckles watched as Lancelot's head rolled past him before hitting the edge of some rubble and shattering completely, the green Chaos Emerald lying in its charred ruins.

Slowly, this new Dark Sonic turned to face one of the last remaining threat, Dark Oak himself. Who hovered there nearby with his arms crossed, his double cape trailing out behind him. The single green glowing bright green.

Lightning flashed as the two of them faced each other, either moving a muscle, their gaze locked squarely on one another.

A light chuckle escaped Dark Oak, and with a sudden thrust, he soured up into the air disappearing upwards. Sonic remained stationary, looking up after him, before narrowing his eyes and he followed, souring upwards out of the laboratory and up into the sky.

There, he found the Metal X general there waiting for him. All around them both were the remaining ships belonging to the Machine Federation, at least fifty in number. As soon as Sonic was in then air, several of them turned and opened fire; the air suddenly lit up with laser fire as the entire fleet locked onto the hedgehog and hit him with everything they had.

Even from the Blue Typhoon about a mile away, they could see the fire works. Cosmo watched in horror as the entire sky seemed to be bathed in the light from the attacks, intermixed with the lightning.

Dark Oak watched from the bow of his flag ship as his fleet bombarded the enemy with an intense barrage. They would keep firing until he gave the order to shop, and he wanted to make sure Sonic died this time. After a good minute had passed, the last of the general's raised his arm and the ships stopped. Silence fell as the light show stopped and smoke began to vanish into the air.

There, as always was Sonic. His shield surrounding his entire body glowing bright white. The hedgehog himself looked clam and collected, having apparently spent no efforts to keep himself safe. The fake emeralds around him was glowing brightly, supplying him with more energy than even he dared to fathom.

His eyes shaped wide open and suddenly it was like the heavens themselves turned upon the fleet. The storm grew in intensity and power, the sky turning pitch black, bolts of lighting shooting across from ship to ship and each one was confused by fire. One by one they began to fall out of the sky, clad in flames before they hit the frothing sea below.

"What is going on over there?" Amy demanded, watching as the Metal X ships dropped like flies before them, consumed one after the other by the sea.

Cosmo dropped to her knees, the ominous finality of everything hitting her hard. She'd warned him this would happen, but now it all too late. "That's it, I'm going out there." The pink hedgehog declared, grabbing her hammer with both hands. Before anyone could stop her, she left the bridge with her weapon swinging around in her hands.

"There's something up there." Eggman stated suddenly, looking surprised as he pointed a finger over towards the largest of the five islands. Chris followed his gaze, to a small dark speck hovered above the centre of the landmass and where it seemed all the savagery of the storm seemed to be coming from. "Get me a close up."

_"Magnifying."_ Becoe replied to the Doctor's demand, isolating that spec on the monitor, narrowing the view more and more until all they could see what that black spot.

_"__Sharpening resolution."_ Decoe added, typing away on the keyboard in front of him. The blurred image began to clarify until they got one clear picture, of something that was all very familiar to them.

"Is that Sonic?" Sam asked in surprise. It certainly looked like him, but with black fur instead of blue. They would have mistaken it for the Shadow, were it not for the fact there wasn't a drop of red anywhere on his entire body. Around him, floating in a short orbit were nine, merged green and black Chaos emeralds, all emitting a strange black glow.

Dark Oak, last of the Metal X general's hovered there before him with his metallic arms crossed as the final flaming wreckage of his fleet crashed down to the water below. Silence brewed between them, stagnating as the minutes wore on. A lightning bolt crashed down near Sonic, highlighting his features. Every part of him was now as black as the night and seemed to be growing darker the more energy those fake emeralds fed into him.

_"__I can't say much for the new look." _The General stated and Sonic's smirk widened into a sadistic sneer. Dark Oak trailed his right arm out and with a sudden swish, the hilt of his curved sword was back in his iron grip._ "Those nine emeralds are by no means as powerful as the combined force of all seven real ones."_ He added._ "The experiments results were less than encouraging."_ Sonic did not reply. _"The echidna was right. The negative energy is slowly eroding the core of your personality. You are being swallowed by the Negative energy. Before too long, you'll be everything you hate a little more besides."_

The hedgehog raised his hand, clenched a fist, before throwing his arm forward, a bolt of burning Chaos energy leaping the distance between them. With a single slice, Dark Oak seemed to cut it in half, each half flying off to one side. Sonic's smirk faltered a little_. "I'm not like the other General's you've fought thus far Sonic."_ The Machine Federation leader told him. _"There's far more to me than meets the eye." _His free hand trailed down towards the island and a beam of green light leapt from between his fingers, before lancing down into the ground. Sonic watched it go, striking the earth and then disappearing. Another second later, something burst up through the canopy and screamed through the air towards him. It looked like the trunk of a tree, twisting as it shot upwards in a tremendous growth spurt. Before Sonic could react, it formed a hand and the giant wooden fingers wrapped themselves around his body. Even being this powerful, Sonic couldn't break fear.

The hedgehog looked up to see Dark Oak floating there, laughing to himself, before he clenched his metal fist and the controlled foliage began retracting rapidly back towards the ground, dragging Sonic with it. All the hedgehog could do was struggle as it tugged him down below the island's canopy of leaves.

Dark Oak dropped down to the ground, his spike like feet landed with a metallic clank. All around he could see the mess left by his summoned help, but no sign of the hedgehog anywhere, only a giant hole carved into the ground through which his help that pulled him down. Slowly, the general raised his sword and in that instant, the blade began sparking as his energy soured through it. A powerful yellow glow following around the metal, a light that could be seen in the distance, even on the Blue Typhoon, a deadly white star that was steadily growing brighter.

Once the energy reached its zenith, Dark Oak swung down and a curved edge of energy screamed forward, smashing into the ground will full force. It was as if the earth literally tore itself open to receive the attack as it cracked and spilt even before the energy collided with it.

In some spectacular light show, the entire island went up in flames, engulfed in one tremendous flash, which Tails plane was barely able to outpace. Having made it back to their mode of transportation in time, and woken the fox up, both Tails Knuckles were one a straight line towards the concealed Blue Typhoon.

"What's going on back there! The fox asked, his goggles doing little to shield his eyes from the blinding flare.

"Don't look back, Sonic can handle himself!" Knuckles replied as the plane soured on, finally escaping the relentless advance of destruction. With only final flash, the island and everything on it was completely reduced to rubble, crumbling into the ocean.

"What the hell!" Okida exclaimed as the shockwave caused by the island demolition smashed into his Mech, forcing the eight legged machine forward at an accelerated rate, before finally tumbling through the Blue Typhoon's camouflage field. On the ship itself, the floor beneath their feet shook violently and several of them were knocked over. Eggman managed to escape it by hanging onto his chair for dear life. His two robot henchmen were less fortunate, landing in a big heap over in a corner.

"Hold on Froggy!" Big told his amphibian companion was the entire ship vibrated angrily, the shockwave finally smashing full force across the bow, tipping the vessel sideways, nearly over into the raging waters.

Amy pulled herself up, rubbing her arm which she'd bruised in the fall. That shockwave had come as a surprise and, with her off guard; her knocked her off her feet. Looking out the window towards the island, she staggered back as she saw the island paradise which had been there moments before crumble into charred ruins.

"It's a Metal X robot!" Chuck declared, pointing at the Spider like machine that had just stumbled clumsily through their illusion. A large royal blue metal insect, marching rather clumsily towards them.

"Relax, it's just us." A voice stated as Okida opened a link, his face appearing on a holographic display. It showed the cramped inside of the Spider Mech's cockpit. It was so small; Topaz was sitting very close to the Major, his shoulder right up against his.

"Comfortable in there?" Rouge asked slyly.

"Now is not the time!" Topaz told her, blushing. "Just what is going on out there?"

"You tell us." Chuck replied. "Right now, we haven't the faintest idea what's going on over on that island."

* * *

- 

Dark Oak floated above the shattered remains, looking down at the wreckage; his double cloak dancing in the harsh wind. The glow on his sword began to die away and once it was gone, he sheathed it. There was no sign of the hedgehog anywhere, but Dark Oak was not stupid enough to believe him destroyed without solid evidence. He was being powered by nine Chaos emeralds. Even if they were all fakes, they would still be boasting his power to new heights.

There was a sudden green flash from behind him and the General shot around in mid air just in time to block a punch as Sonic came souring out of a Chaos Control warp. Grabbing both fists with his talons, Dark Oak held the hedgehog off and a power struggle took place, each trying to out do the other in raw strength. As it wore on, it began apparent that they were evenly matched.

Finally they broke away and faced each other. With a flick of the wrist, Dark Oak had his sword back in his hand again.

Lightning forked across the sky and they charged towards edge other, engaging in another battle. Kicks, punches and slashes were thrown so fast the naked eye would have been unable to see it.

Dark Oak slashed at Sonic and the hedgehog slid around the swing, before flying in close with an energy attack burning between his fingers. The general blocked the attack with his sword, before landing a metal punch against the hedgehog's check.

Sent spinning backwards, Sonic backed off to a distance before firing several blasts all at once in Dark Oak's direction, the flashes of light illuminating the sky. Dark Oak deflected them with his blade before gathering what he could into the sword, the metal sparking wild, before he arched forward and sent one of his strongest attacks souring at him.

Sonic remained were he was and let his shield absorb the hit. Which it seemed had not been a smart move. Dark Oak was more powerful then he had given him credit for. Sonic was forced backwards, inch by inch as he fought the attack, barring his teeth fought against it, calling forth as much energy as he could before finally forcing it away from him.

Now, both of them were a good distance from each other. Silence endured for another minute, their gaze locked only on each other, before Dark Oak raised his sword one final time and changed through the air his cloak trailing out behind him.

Sonic smirked evilly, before charging himself.

The two of them glowed brightly as they soured through the air on a collision course with one another, before finally they struck. The light created from that one finally clash could be seen from space, and even from the Earth.

All over the planet, people looked up towards the heavens as Mars for one brief moment burned as brightly as a second sun, before finally dissipating and the skies returned to normal.

Sonic stopped, let his arms dropped to his side and looked back toward the Metal X general. Dark Oak was floating there silently, his sword at his side. It had been him to suffer the damage in that scuffle. As he turned around to face him, the hedgehog could see a large hole was gorged open in the side of his armour, lightning sparking around it like blood from a wound. Sonic however hadn't escaped without something to show for it either. A large bruise lay on his shoulder, with Dark Oak had tried to slash him but had ended up hitting him with the hilt instead.

Sonic paused, seeing Dark Oak raise a finger to the side of his head. The general looked off into the distance, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

_"But My lord…Yes, I understand. As you wish."_ Dark Oak stated, looking out into nowhere, before turning back toward the hedgehog. _"You are fortunate."_ The metal General told him, sheathing his blade._ "My Master seems to think you deserve a second chance."_ Sonic narrowed his eyes.

"Metal Sonic will be destroyed along with the rest of you Machines." He repeated, speaking for the first time since his transformation, his voice tainted with a sadistic streak. Even without a mouth to smile with, Dark Oak looked amused

_"What makes you think I'm talking about Metal Sonic?"_ Before Sonic could react, the Metal general faded away, disappearing into nothingness as he teleported to some other place.

Sonic was left alone, still burning with Negative energy and without an opponent. He cared not who, so long as he could fight, and win….and destroy. Nothing else mattered, nothing at all.

It was only then, when he relished at the thought of destroying everything in sight, that he realized that Dark Oak and Knuckles had been right. The energy of these fake emeralds was eroding his mind.

Turning, he looked down to where the Blue Typhoon lay concealed behind its illusion. There was no fighting it now; the need to destroy was too strong. In one instant, all that Sonic was disappeared and what remained was this, remorseless creature of destruction.

He was, Dark Super Sonic.

* * *

- 

(In Chris voice)

What? If Dark Oak doesn't really work for Metal Sonic, then just who is his boss?

With Sonic turned evil, how can there be any hope left? It's a raceagainst time as Amy's limits are tested, next time on Sonic X with the end of the Metal X Saga. Darkness of the heart, part 2...Don't miss it!


	43. Episode 22

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Episode 22: Darkness of the Heart, part 2

* * *

Destroy. That was the only thought running through his mind. Everything around him, absolutely everything needed to be obliterated. His eyes cast downwards towards the surface below. The first island beneath him had been completely devastated, reduced to a smouldering ruin quickly being consumed by the sea. There was no need to deal with that. What was left however were four other land masses' that needed exterminating. 

Raising his left hand, Dark Super Sonic fired a single energy bolt at the one closest to him. It was as if the entire island simply curved in on itself and then in one spectacular explosion was consumed by fire. All the flora and animal life present died instantly, burnt to a cinder.

A second died, ripped to shreds by a succession of blasts that broke it apart piece by piece. Dark Super Sonic watched with satisfaction as each of them were eaten by the water. This power was unlike anything he'd left power, it would be a shame not to test it's maximum capabilities. Holding his hand up, sparks of lightning danced across the sky before flying into his palm, gathering their energy as a bright light culminated between his fingers.

His entire body became a blinking light for a second, before multiable beams shot done towards the ground and tore the land apart with such savage ferocity, the entire planet seemed to tremble. In a blasé of fire, the remaining free islands were reduced to dust.

The storm raged on, and the command to destroy remained as steadfast as ever. Everything had to be set ablaze, and this entire planet would be first. Looking up, Dark Super Sonic could see the faint outline of the planet Earth in the night sky between the caps in the thunder clouds. That would be next…but even he did not have the power to destroy a planet. The full potential of the negative energy contained within the nine emerald circling his body could only be unleashed by a balance between positive and negative. And there was only one thing that could bring about such a balance.

Down in the raging waters below, it's crew thinking them safe behind their camouflage was the Blue Typhoon. The illusion that kept it safe from detection did not work on his eyes. He could see the ship exactly where it lay.

Inside it's energy core was the one thing he needed. He doubted they would relinquish it without a fight, but that did not matter in the end. They, like everything else had to be destroyed.

Turning towards them fully, Dark Super Sonic held his left hand across his chest and began gathering energy. His closed fist pulsating with a blood red glow, before he thrust his arm forward, several bolts of energy manifesting in the air before screaming down towards the ground, one of them smashing across the bow of the ship knocking it sideways. The others cascaded into the water, sending spray high into the air.

"What is the hell does that Hedgehog think he's doing?" Eggman demanded, catching himself before he was tipped out of his chair. The entire Typhoon tipped sideways, nearly rolling onto it's side.

Knuckles was well aware of the side effects of Negative Chaos energy, having experienced them once himself. While it gave you great power, you had no control over your actions. While under it's influence, you would destroy everything in sight. Knuckles had had the will to resist it before, but that had just been a small spark. Sonic was being taken over by NINE emeralds.

With a sudden thrust, the wall of the corridor he was running down broke open and the Echidna was forced to stop. Through the hole came Sonic, his fur now completely jet black and his eyes nothing but white. Around him were the nine fake emeralds Metal X had cloned from one of the originals.

"Sonic, if there's anything of you left in there, listen to me." Knuckles began, backing off slightly as the dark hedgehog turned his head to face him. "Fight it Sonic. You have to…" Before he could finish, some invisible force smacked him right in the face with strength that knocked him over onto the floor. The Echidna grunted loudly as pushed himself back up, blood running out his nostril.

The Dark Super Sonic was staring down at him with a sadistic smirk on his face. "I know you're made of tougher stuff than this Sonic." The smirk remained. "Come on, what happened to that cocky little, fast pain in the neck who used to drive me crazy?" There was a moment of silence, and then the dark hedgehog startled chuckling. Then he rolled his head back and laughed, an evil laugh Knuckles would have expected from Doctor Eggman.

Suddenly his fist flew forward at tremendous speed, slamming hard into the Echidna's stomach. Gasping out in pain, Knuckles fell to his knees.

"You pride yourself on your strength, yet look how weak you really are." The hedgehog stated, his voice echoing in his own throat, before he picking him up roughly by one of his dreadlocks and then repeatedly slamming him into one of the walls. As the Echidna dropped, he rebounded off the floor and threw the strongest punch he could muster straight into the Hedgehog's face.

To his dismay however, the fist stopped just short of the nose, as if held back by some invisible barrier. That sickening smile on the hedgehog's face widened and Knuckles tried again, each punch bouncing off some shield. Not a single blow was hitting home.

Not only that, but it seemed like the pain intended for his opponent happened to him. It was like hitting ones fist against a brick wall.

Dark Super Sonic just sheered, before flicking the Echidna way with a single gesture of his wrist. That one flick felt like someone had slammed a truck into his face as he went flying down the corridor, before smashing into the side of a wall.

"Make you feel good Sonic?" The Echidna asked. The dark hedgehog raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Beating up your friends like this?" For a second, there was a faint flicker of blue across the black and in that instant, Knuckles was convinced her saw a glimmer of the old Sonic in the face, before a scowl emerged and an energy blast was launched from an open palm.

Picking himself up, Knuckles dived out of the way just in time and charged with a fist held ready. Dark Super Sonic fired several other shots straight at him, and dodging these the Echidna tried to get in close for another punch, only to have the Hedgehog block his blow his the side of his arm before trying to throw his own punch. Knuckles managed to dodge around it, before trying a kick.

Kick's being more of Rouge's thing, his own change in tactics did not prove fruitful. Dark Super Sonic simply dodged it with impossible speed, before landing his own kick.

Like his punch, it was incredibly strong and Knuckles ended up getting flung across the corridor again before smashing into a wall.

"You're an insect compared to me!" The dark hedgehog stated as the Echidna pulled himself up again, feelingly every bone in his body had either been broken or removed completely. Growling, Dark Super Sonic curved his body around in a circle and started spinning. As he spun, lighting flashed across his quills, more and more power building up. Knuckles tensed him, before that spin attack shot forward.

Timing it just right, the Echidna slapped his hands together, catching the spinning hedgehog in-between his gloves. It was like trying to hold onto the tyre of formal one race car while it was in the middle of a race.

Forcing everything else out his mind, Knuckles called all the strength he could muster to his arms and then with one sudden effort, he forced Dark Super Sonic back and sent him flying back down through the corridor.

Coming out of the spin, the dark hedgehog floated in mid air, apparently completely unharmed.

"Sonic, don't make me do this!" He began, drawing a fist back and tensing his arm, preparing to deliver the strongest punch he had ever managed. The same punch that when he first used it, broke off a piece of Angel Island. Dark Super Sonic's smirk disappeared and he narrowed his eyes, set in a hard frown.

The Echidna backed off a few paces, before flying forward and swinging his arm forward. The shockwave from the impact radiated outwards like rippling water, craving cracks in the walls and floor. Everyone on the ship felt the tremble, as a strong as an earthquake that tipped anything that wasn't nailed down over. "What!" The Echidna began, his eyes wide in horror, seeing that seemed this, his strongest attack, his best efforts had failed.

His fist hadn't even gotten close.

Dark Super sonic reached up and grabbed his arm, lifting him up into the air.

"That was all you had?" He asked sadistically, and suddenly the Echidna was lifted into the air from his hand by some visible strings and while he hovered there, struggling to free himself from whatever force ha him trapped, Sonic raised a hand and blasted him with an energy bolt, sending him flying through the side of wall and into the chamber beyond. "Truly pathetic."

As the echidna rolled to a stop in a shower of debris, Sonic looked down at his broken body. He could finish him with a thought, yet something inside told him to wait. There would be more fitting to destroy them all at once, only once he had acquired what he had re-entered the ship to obtain.

* * *

- 

"I'm inciting a security lock down!" Tails replied to Chuck's question, throwing himself into the pilot's sheet and running his fingers over the key pads.

"Just what is going on out there?" Chris asked. As the entire ship shook, lockdown doors slamming into place around the entire vessel, especially around the energy chamber where the six emeralds they had and the Master Emerald.

"Sonic's gone nuts, that's what's happening!" Tails stated, finalizing the condition red condition of the ship. "Those cloned Chaos Emeralds contained nothing but Negative Chaos Energy, and now it's taken him over."

Those words cut through Cosmo like a knife. She had seen it all happen in her vision, and now it was happening, just as it showed her. She couldn't help but curse into the air. What was the point of all this? If she was given these visions to help prevent them from coming to pass, then why had her best efforts failed?

The ship shook violently for a second as Dark Super Sonic blasted his way through a steal door that tried to bare his way, molten fragments of metal thrown out into the corridor beyond. It actually felt amusing, that they were trying to stop him like this.

Surely had they knew how powerful he was now. What was a locked door to him?

"We have to do something!" Chris declared. "There must be someway we can turn him back to normal!"

"Open to suggestions here!" Eggman replied, another violent shudder tearing through the ship as several other security doors were forced open. "Give me a minute and I'll have the sensors for the ship up and running." The Doctor added, running his fingers over the controls.

_"Sub processors up and running sir." _Becoe told him, assisting in his work.

"Just what happened out there?" Chuck asked. Tails related to them the story, forcing it to a short version. He told them of the discovery of the Machine Federation's laboratory and the nine cloned Chaos Emeralds they were experimenting with. And then of the fight with Lancelot and now, by some fluke, the energy of those fake emeralds had been transferred into the blue Hedgehog. Now he was just some relentless machine of destruction, obliterating anything in sight. And with the power of nine emeralds to back him up, he was quite capable of it.

"Well can't we use the other Emeralds to bring him back?" Chris asked, gaining him a few confused looks. "I mean, if Negative Chaos energy made him like this, then made a jolt of Positive Energy might turn him back again" Tails shook his head.

"It wouldn't work. Negative Chaos energy works differently to Positive. The only way we get the old Sonic back, is if he willingly let's go of that power." He levelled his eyes and muttered reluctantly. "And right now, that's the last thing on his mind."

_"__Internal sensors are back on line Doctor." D_ecoe announced. Eggman nodded and punched a couple of commands into his console. A short buzzing echoed around the bridge, before a holographic display of the Blue Typhoon appeared in the middle of the room. Entering a few more commands, the image blurred again to include a red rode slowly moving down through the vessel's many corridors. Whenever it reached a thick blue line that marked where a shutter door was in place, it would stop. Then the entire ship would shake violently as it tore the obstruction out of the way and carried on.

"Just where is here going?" Sam asked. Eggman stood up and study the display in greater detail.

"Let's see, if he remains on his present course….that should take him…" The doctor began, tracing the routes with a fat finger, before his face distorted in horror and he backed off. "He's reading straight for the Energy chamber!" Everyone grew silent. They all knew what he was going there for. That was where they'd stashed the six Chaos Emeralds they'd been able to gather.

Not only that, but the Master Emerald as well. Dark Super Sonic was extremely powerful as it was, but with those added to his reverse, nothing would be able to stop him.

"There has to be something we can do." Chuck argued. "He has to be stopped now before it's too late!" Tails shook his head. There was little any of them could do accept get in Sonic's way, and to him, they'd just be potholes. And small potholes at that.

Cosmo hardened her face. Even if she'd failed to prevent this from happening, there was still something she could do to help. Turning, she ran out through the doors and into another corridor.

"Cosmo, wait!" Tails called after her, sensing her intentions as she passed by. Somersaulting out of the pilot's seat, he rushed after her.

He finally caught up to her waiting for a lift down to the lower levels of the vessel. "What are you doing?" The green haired girl looked back at him.

"There's a chance I might be able to reach him. Get me close enough; and I think I might be able to talk to the real Sonic, the one being overridden by all that darkness." She replied as the lift finally reached her level and the doors opened.

"It's too dangerous." Tails told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sonic isn't himself right now. He could tear you limb from limb."

"He's going to tear me limb from limb even if I don't try." Cosmo persisted with hard eyes. "And the rest of you along with me." Her expression was pleading. "Please, get me close enough; and I can help."

Tails wore an expression of undisguised uncertainty. His loyalties were torn. He didn't want to put Cosmo in harms way, but he didn't want the rest of the crew to be destroyed. And if he was honest, he would admit he didn't want Sonic to get hurt either.

The ship shook as another of the doors baring Dark Super Sonic's way to the energy chamber and Tails was forced to make a decision.

"Alright…" He began and Cosmo managed a small smile. "Are you sure?" She nodded.

"Yes. I know I can do it." Tails sighed out load, his arms dropping to his sides in reluctance.

"Then let's go." He held her hand and the two of them entered the lift.

* * *

- 

Dark Super Sonic simply flicked the door side with his little finger and watched as the metal caved inward. As the door collapsed before him, the dark hedgehog found himself in a large storage chamber where they stored the Mech's and other modes of transportation. If memory served, then the Energy core of the Typhoon was right through the door on the other side. It would have been easy simply to rip the ship apart and pry the Emeralds out, yet something was telling him that was not a good idea. An introduction of engaged Negative energy to a large collection of Positive Energy could have explosive results. It would be far better to ease his way in.

A shot rang out and a barrage bullet came dangerously close to hitting him in the arm, had his shield not prevented the injury. Looking around, he saw who had fired it.

The Yahger Mech was up and running, striding over the boxed crates towards him, the guns on either side of its large armoured body angled right down towards him.

"Sorry buddy, we figured out what you're trying to do, and I ain't letting you get any further." Okida announced through a loud speaker, the targeting system of his Walker getting a lock on. "I don't want a pull this trigger, but I will if you push me." Sonic simply laughed, before flying up into the air and charging towards the large combat machine. With a loud whirring, bullets flew through the air, all of them bouncing off the shield that covered the dark hedgehog.

Forced to fire missiles, Okida targeted Sonic none last time and fired. Both projectiles collided with Sonic, and the hedgehog disappeared in a blaze of fire and smoke. The shockwave from the blast forced the Mech to stagger backwards a few paces, before it's large foot slammed down into the floor, bringing it to a halt. Okida felt his heart in his throat as the smoke began to clear. Had he stopped Sonic, only by killing him?

Suddenly, the smoke cleared and there without a scratch on him was the dark hedgehog, smiling sadistically as he raised his left hand, an energy blast gathering above his palm.

The Yahger Mech was just a huge target. There was no way it would have avoided the attack. The energy beam struck the machine head on, forcing it across the cargo bay and into the side of a wall with a loud clank. Okida hit his head on something hard behind him in the cockpit and cursed out load. Weapons and targeting systems were offline and the energy core of the walker had been severely damaged. Another hit like that and it could go critical.

The Mech pushed itself back to an upright position and fired several beams from its lasers, one of them actually striking the hedgehog head on. Dark Super sonic convulsed, the attack actually getting past his shield. Okida grinned; it looked like his defences couldn't handle a laser, which at the end of the day was just light, passing through an energy based shield with ease.

Dark Super Sonic backed off as the Yahger continued blasting him over and over again, each one passing through his shield and hitting him.

"Ready to give up?" Okida asked, hitting the hedgehog with a double barrage. Dark Super Sonic's eyes widened, his face twisted in loathing, before he curled himself up into a ball and started spinning. As he spun, the flow of his quills going around formed another shield, one that deflected the lasers away from his body. "Oh crap…" The major muttered as the dark hedgehog came souring towards him at an unbelievable speed. Okida had just enough time to brace for impact as the hyped-up spin attack smashed at full speed into the side of his Walker.

Like a chain saw, the attack tore through the metal plating and then the hedgehog shot through the interior of the machine itself, before tearing violently out the back. Now with a giant hole torn in its side, the Mech swayed in mid air for a moment, before falling backwards.

With a loud crash, it fell to the floor, the impact shaking the entire ship. Alarms began blaring in the cockpit as system after system went offline, and then finally everything went dead as the Mech died completely. Okida cursed. He liked that Mech, and now it had been ruined beyond repair.

Pressing a button, he opened the cockpit to the outside world, only to find the dark hedgehog standing there waiting for him. Okida tried to reach for the gun in his holster, but Sonic simply clenched a fist and paralysis seized his entire body, preventing him from even moving. Something lifted him out of his machine and up into the air.

Okida struggled, his wings flapping about, trying to propel himself backwards out of the way, but nothing was working. He tried to kick him, hoping it would force the ark hedgehog to release him, but for some reason his foot didn't even get close.

There was a loud crash, and something large and metallic red smacked into the hedgehog's face, sending him cascading through the air before smashing into the floor, disappearing into a cloud of dust. Okida was dropped back onto the armoured chest plate of his Mech roughly, possible shipping a bone in the process.

"Are you alright?" Topaz called up. Okida opened an eye to see the human female, Rouge and Omega there. The battle android stood ready for a counterattack as it had been him that knocked Sonic off.

"What is his deal?" Rouge asked.

"I don't know." Okida replied, pushing him up and reaching for his gun. "It's like he doesn't even remember who he is anymore." Suddenly, the dust cascaded to the side and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Dark Super Sonic rose up out of the hole in the floor, pure white eyes fixed only of them.

Omega raised his arm, barrel shaped arms and fired an intense barrage of missiles that screamed through the air towards Sonic. Sonic crossed his arms in front of himself, paused for a moment before throwing his hands out. An intense shockwave passed through the room and the missiles about faced, running straight back to Omega. Each one collided with his chest and the Machine was sent flying backwards in a spray of fire.

Rouge attacked, flying in close before striking Sonic over and over again with several of her best kicks. Sonic not only blocked them, but managed to find the agility to land a punch against the side of her face. Rouge crashed into the ground, and would have gotten back up, had Sonic not come souring in at the last second and dealt a kick of his own to her side, sending her flying up into the ceiling.

As he limp body fell back down to the ground, Okida and Topaz opened fire. Their attempts at stopping him were even less effective, and all Sonic had to do to deal with them was raise his left hand.

The entire ship shook with the explosion that tore the door to the energy chamber open. The double, four foot thick doors just seemed to melt into slag and fall inwards. Sent flying in first was Omega, his left arm completely severed off and one of his optics smashed in. Then he was followed by the others, all with either their hair or clothes scorched badly.

Sonic came floating in last, holding Okida up by the drape around his shoulders, the bat was unconscious. Once inside, the hedgehog cast the vampire bat down to the floor and continued on up towards the metallic version of the Emerald Shrine. Right where they'd left them were the Chaos Emerald, all six of the seven those they had managed to gather and floating directly in the middle was the Master Emerald itself. An enormous, bright green jewel at least twice the size of his own body and the most powerful source of Chaos Energy in existence.

Dark Super Sonic managed a sneer, and carried on up towards it.

"That's far enough." A voice stated; the least likely voice Sonic ever expected to hear at this point. Stepping out from behind the Master Emerald was Amy Rose, her hammer tight in both hands, her emerald green eyes set hard against him.

She was no threat. She was nothing compared to him, sneering at her, he carried on.

Without warning however, each Emeralds began glowing in turn, red, green, purple yellow, grey and sky blue. Each one rose off the pillar they had been placed upon and began to encircle Amy, forming a sphere around her. Slowly they orbited around her, like the nine fakes that went around Sonic.

The two shields connected, and sparks of conflicting energy passed between them.

Sonic was forced to back away, his sneer reduced to a scowl. "I want you back Sonic." The pink hedgehog stated. "But you're going to have to get past me if you want these Emeralds."

* * *

- 

"Shadow…Shadow…" His name was being called, but right now the black and red hedgehog was not inclined to answer. Something was wrong…he couldn't tell what, but something was not as it should be. Whatever it was, it was very important, that was all he could tell at this moment.

He had to know what. Sorting through memories long since buried, the black and red hedgehog dived into the past, digging for something, anything that was out of place.

"Shadow…Shadow…" Again his name was called, and again he did not answer.

What was here, something…something important? He had to…he paused. Turning slowly, he confronted what had stood before him all along.

"Hello Shadow." A voice stated and for the first time in fifty years, he came face to face with his creator.

"Impossible…" Shadow breathed, backing off a couple of paces. "You can't be him…" The old human man, completely bald apart from a thick grey moustache smiled. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses that rested on the tip of his nose. He looked like an aged version of Eggman.

"Good to see you again." He began, walking closer. Almost in terror, Shadow backed off a few more paces. "You needn't adopt that attitude with me; I'm only here to talk." Shadow remained steadfast there, his eyes wide in a mixture of awe and outright confusion. This could not be…him…it just couldn't be…it was impossible.

"Who…what are you?"

"Oh, has my appearance changed that much?" The old man asked, feigning an upset look. "As for what I am, well I'm not a ghost in the true sense of the word, if you're wondering that." He paused, a smile breaking over his face. "Then again, I don't know what being a ghost feels like so I wouldn't be able to compare the feeling." He knelt down so his face was level with Shadow's. "But right now, I feel more alive then I have in decades." Shadow remained silent for a moment, before his expression grew less petrified.

"Professor?" The old man's smile deepened.

"Ah, good. You haven't forgotten me then." Shadow stood there, dumbfounded, eyes wide and burning with conflicting thoughts and feelings. Then he looked up again.

"Why did you do it?" He asked; the ominous meaning of that question more than evident. The man stood up, his smile fading.

"I don't know Shadow. I didn't know what I was doing when I was doing it, and I don't know now." He shrugged. "I guess I just started listening to the voices in my head. But anyway, right now that's not important."

"What could possible be more…" Shadow began...only to hear that call again.

"Shadow…Shadow…" That call felt like it had almost lifted him off his feet, like every time it sounded he was less and less here.

"An urgent matter." The professor stated. "I do not have the strength to remain here for long, so I will have to make this quick." The human put his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "There is a task that only you can, and must carry out."

"What task?" The black and red hedgehog asked flatly. While he respected this man, he would be wary in listening to his respects. The last time he had asked him to do something; he had not been entirely himself.

"When the ultimate life form project began, Chaos Control was one of the first things I experimented with. I discovered more within it than just the qualities for teleportation."

"Shadow…Shadow...!" The call came again and the environment around them both seemed to blur, becoming less and less solid.

"G.U.N has the records." The human told him, his voice rushed as time began to run out. "I need you to find the Robotnik family legacy. The records I left behind. Something very bad is going to happen very soon, and I need you to help me." Before Shadow could say anything else, everything, including the vision of the Professor blurred into nothing and the hedgehog was propelled back up.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, only to be met with a blob of orange. Blinking, he cleared his vision and began to see more precise images. Now, instead of a splat of colour, he saw Tikal kneeling over him.

Roughly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His new surroundings were somewhere in the wilderness, the tall expanse of an evergreen forest all around them.

"Hey, look who's up." Hare remarked and the others looked back to see Shadow hoist himself to his feet.

He was extremely low on energy. Whatever had happened after the fight Dark Oak had drained him, leaving him light-headed. Still, he managed to maintain his usual tough façade.

Tikal stared into his eyes, and as if reading his thoughts, set her own face in a frown.

"What is it?" She asked. Shadow did not reply, his own thoughts were a little jumbled at the moment.

He did not know what this 'Robotnik family legacy' was, but if it was that important as the old man claimed then he had to find, but not because the Professor had asked him to.

Perhaps he thought that they could go back to the way things where. Well, he was wrong. Too much bad had happened for that. There was NO going back. Shadow was who he was today, now, this very instant. The hedgehog from fifty years ago was dead.

"We've got work to do."

* * *

- 

Flip card 1:

Name: Prof. Gerald Robotnik

Description: A ghostly visitation?


	44. Episode 22, part 2

Flip card 2:

Name: (Benefactor?)

Description: A mysterious figure who has a connection to Metal Sonic. Whatever he wants, he's keepign it secret.

* * *

- 

Growling, Dark Super Sonic let his arm trail upwards and he fired several blasts of energy straight towards Amy. To his displeasure, each one was absorbed by the shield around her, formed by the six real Chaos Emeralds they had been able to gather. They all dissipated into nothing a clear foot away from their target.

Trying a direct attack, the dark hedgehog soured in close with a fist drawn back .Amy blocked his attack with her hammer, before swinging her weapon around again trying to strike him.

Dark Super Sonic swung backwards to avoid the attack, before curving his body around in a circle to start spinning. He remained in place for a moment, gathering momentum before rocketing toward. Amy remained steadfast, even with the hyped up spin attack colliding with her own shield. Dark Super Sonic pushed against the defence, trying to break through, sparks of energy shot outwards in all directions as positive collided with negative.

Amy gathered her strength and swung her hammer around as hard as she could, the blunt end of it colliding with the dark hedgehog. There was a bright flash of light and the floor beneath them shook violent as shockwaves passed through the entire ship, nearly ripping the entire thing in two.

"I know you're in there somewhere." Amy began as Dark Super Sonic rebounded off a wall and came in for another attack. The dark hedgehog simply scowled, before launching forward at tremendous speed. Amy's shield flew up again and energy began exchanging itself around the chamber, a chain reaction spiralling out of control. Energy bolts shot around the entire room like ball lightning, rippling like water before smashing into the wall, shattering off large chunks of metal. "Come on Sonic, this isn't you." She added as he swung back and she was forced to bring her hammer down on top of his head as she tried to stop him. Dark Super Sonic rebounded off the floor and shot up to the ceiling.

Swaying in mid air, the dark hedgehog held his hands out in front of himself and sparks began travelling between his fingers. Once he had built up enough power, he launched a black version of the Sonic Wind attack down towards her.

That attack tore most of the coverings off the walls and testing Amy's own determination, yet somehow she found the strength of will to resist it and to reinforce her shield.

Getting the chaos Emeralds to work for her had not been easy, as she had had no experience in using the things. Sonic and Shadow made it look easy, yet it required a great deal of concentration.

Dark Super Sonic came souring down from above with a flying kick, trying to shatter her shield like an egg, yet it simply bounced off the surface and sent him souring backwards. Amy took the opportunity to go on the offensive, smashing the handle end of her hammer into his stomach, before whipping around with him still on the end of it, and throwing him straight towards the Master Emerald.

With a loud crash, the dark hedgehog collided with the giant green emerald and began screaming. Bolts of green energy leap from the Master Emerald and sparked across his body, causing him to convulse like he was having a fit. Amy covered her eyes as the light show became too much.

"Amy…I'm…I…I'm sorry." Looking back, she saw Sonic, her Sonic…the real Sonic. His fur was still jet black, yet the face was beginning to retain some of the royal blue colour he was famous for. "I…I can't control this." He stammered, the nine fake emeralds around him trying to re-seize control of his body. "You… you have to stop me…" With that, the blue disappeared completely and the black solidified. With one sudden effort, the dark hedgehog broke free of the Master Emerald's grip and shot upwards, rage burning his eyes as he gathered another energy blast.

Caught by surprise, Amy didn't manage a good enough defence and a tremendously powerful Black Sonic wind crashed into her body with full force, tearing her off her feet and flinging her across the room to collide with the wall on the far side.

Sinking down to the ground, the pink hedgehog forced her own will over the six Chaos Emeralds and they flew back to her side, forming the shield again. Blood was running from the corner of her mouth, yet she ignored it, whipping it away with the back of her hand.

Dark Super Sonic came souring it, fists at the ready. Amy blocked the swing, before retaliating with her own. The two of them exchanged blows at lightning fast speeds, each trying desperately to overcome the over. Dark Super Sonic was infuriated, he already knew that without these Chaos Emeralds boasting her power, she was nothing compared to him. With them now, she was almost his equal.

Blocking a kick with her hammer, Amy soured back with a kick of her own, landing the tip of her boot against his chin. As the dark hedgehog staggered backwards clutching his face in pain, Amy swung her hammer above her head like a golf club.

"FOUR!" She cried, before bring it down sharply, striking the dark hedgehog with every ounce of strength she could muster.

Outside in the corridors, making their way towards the energy Chamber were the fight was taking place, Tails was Cosmo found their path littered with unconscious crew members. In one of the cargo holds, they had found Knuckles lying there. He was alive at least, yet they both doubted that he'd be dancing on stage any time soon.

In another cargo bay they found what was left of the battle between Okida's Yahger Mech and the Dark Hedgehog. The shattered shell of the Walker lay in a smouldering heap on the floor.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Tails told the green haired girl as they neared the energy core, finding the corridors they travelled down either scarred or sourced by intense energy blasts.

"Not as much as I do." Cosmo replied as they bounded a corner to find Topaz lying beaten next tot eh burnt remains of Omega. Both the humans and the battle android were in one piece, but Omega's arm was going to need some serious maintenance. Okida lay a little further one, propped up against the wall, knocked out cold. Apparently the fight had continued even after his Mech had been turned into scrap metal.

The doors to the energy core were open, melted inward by the force of some attack, leaving the fight inside for all to see. The two of them watched as Amy Rose deflected an attack by Dark Super Sonic, before trying one of her own.

The dark Hedgehog held the advantage on just above everything, yet Amy's own supply of Emerald power was making more big irritation to him. By the look of it, the pink hedgehog had succeeded in keeping Sonic away from the other Emeralds, so there was still time to work Cosmo's plan.

"Are you sure about this?" Tails asked to the tenth time, looking back at the Seer from Maginaryworld. Cosmo simply nodded once as sure of herself as she'd ever be. Tails sighed out load. "Alright then."

Amy slammed her hammer into Dark Super Sonic's back, forcing him into the side of a wall. The dark hedgehog shot off it was soon he connected, to land a punch directly into her face. None it was her turn to go on the defences as Dark Super Sonic launched into a furious attack, firing energy attacks and throwing punches all at once it seemed. Her shield held off the energy bolts, yet it took every ounce of agility she had to move her hammer fast enough to block the swings. Unfortunately, one of them made it through and the pink hedgehog was set spiralling backwards down towards the floor.

Looking up, she saw Dark Super sonic raised his hand, preparing to fire one last blast to finish her off. In that instant however, a beam of white light shot out of nowhere and the end of it latched onto his head. Looking around in utter confusion, the dark hedgehog looked more alarmed then he had ever had. Amy looked across to see Cosmo kneeled on the floor nearby, her hands clasped together as if in pray. The light was coming from between her fingers, like some shaft of sunlight descending through storm clouds.

The green haired seer was muttering somewhere very quickly in some language neither Tails nor Amy had heard before, probably one native to Maginaryworld itself. The young fox looked on as Cosmo undertook her task. Well, it seemed to be working thus far. Dark Super Sonic had stopped at least. Cosmo had assured him she could succeed. The seers of Maginaryworld had the ability to separate "Yin from Yang". If they could pull it off, then perhaps she might be able to get the real Sonic back instead of this black parody.

Suddenly, Dark Super Sonic tried to pull away, as it the light was causing him pain. Tails watched in awe as the nine fake emeralds around him began to vibrate, cracks running all over their surface like spider's webs. Cosmo's face twisted in effort, trying to finish the job before Sonic broke free of her grasp. One of the fake emerald shattered in a spray of green shards and the dark hedgehog staggered backwards as if something had dealt him a heavy blow.

Another emerald followed, and then another; both shattering like glass and each time Dark Super Sonic looked like someone was twisting a knife in his heart. With six of his original nine left, Dark Super Sonic summoned all the power he could and finally ripped free of the light. The backlash smashed into Cosmo and sent her crashing down to the floor.

"Cosmo!" Tails cried out crushing to her side as Dark Super Sonic righted himself; swaying on his feet like a drunkard. Amy pushed herself to her feet, leaning on her hammer.

"It's still week, trying to reach him now." Cosmo told the pink hedgehog. Amy cast a glance towards her, before looking back towards Sonic. He had been tremendously weakened, his fur fading from black to blue and back again as if it couldn't make up its mind.

"Sonic, fight it! I've done what I can, you have to get it of it yourself now!" She told him. Sonic looked up, his fists clenched and teeth bared in effort. Slowly, she could see his pure white eyes began to fade as the green centres remerged. Sweat was running down the side of his face as the real Sonic fought back from inside, throwing everything it had against the Negative energy had held his body. Like a shard, another of the emeralds broke into dust. With it gone, the fur turned bluer and began to flop back down from the head. The remaining five however weren't going to give up their hold without one heck of a fight and began glowing black, trying to retake control.

Sonic crossed his arms in front of himself in an 'X', his old features reclaiming themselves inch by inch. "Come on Sonic, you can do it!"

"Yeah, you've been in tighter spots before!" Tails joined in. Their words seemed to have a positive effect, the fur loosing its darkness and becoming blue again. The fake emeralds glowing as bright as stars, pouring all their efforts into control the hedgehog.

"Oh no you don't!" Sonic declared into the air, his own voice back again. "Not this time!" With one final thrust, he threw his arms out and his entire body glowed bright blue. The Master Emerald glowed bright green in response. The other three there had to cover their eyes at the light show as energy radiated outwards. Each of the fakes emeralds shattered one after the other, breaking into shards before there weren't any of them left.

With a sudden thrust, the darkness was forced completely off of Sonic and into the air. Once it was gone, the once again Blue Hedgehog dropped to the floor unconscious. The dark cloud above twisted, trying to find a few host but before it could, the Master Emerald's glow radiated outwards and the Negative Energy was sucked right down into its depths. It sounded like someone was removing the skin from a rabbit when it was still alive. The cloud screamed in agony as inch by inch, the Master Emerald swallowed it whole.

It had been slow going gathering the energy required for a Chaos Control back to Earth. It required a great deal more than a short teleportation, especially for five people. It had occurred to Shadow more than once that he was abandoning Sonic to face his robotic counterpart by himself, but if the Professor's warning had been right, he had to get back to Earth at once and search for this… Robotnik Family Legacy. Gerald had had no time to explain what it was, or why it was so important, yet his urgent message had to be taken serious, the black hedgehog was sure of that.

Metal X and their Master would have to wait. This was far more urgent and while he was not aware of what Gerald hoped to prevent, but whatever it was, it had to be serious for a dead man to take interest in it.

Bean and Bark were tidying away their makeshift camp while Hare was up a tree on a branch trying to get their bearings in this therefore wilderness. Shadow failed to see a point to any of their tasks, although he supposed they felt more respect for nature than most humans.

"Hey, it's stopped raining." Hare declared, looking up towards the sky. Tikal blinked in surprise and looked up herself. The heavy rain had indeed stopped and the storm clouds were beginning to break apart, shafts of light lancing down towards the ground. The wind was dying away to a dull hum instead of a raging roar. The female Echidna smiled. She had that ominous thing in her eyes again.

"Something you'd like to tell me about?" The black hedgehog asked. Tikal's smile just widened.

"Nah. Everything's ok now." She replied, watching the water drop off of the edge of a large leaf not to far away.

* * *

- 

The darkness faded and light came flooding back as slowly the blue hedgehog opened his eyes. He felt like every cell in his body had been rained on energy, yet somehow he found the strength to push his eyes open. His vision blurred sickeningly and for a few seconds he was left effectively blind. Blinking, he cleared his sight before he managed to pick out the deals of a ceiling above.

"Hey, he's awake." Someone stated as he slowly picking himself up into a sitting position. His head was pounding like a jack hammer, the pain radiating down through his neck and into the rest of the body. Looking around, Sonic found himself lying in a bed with various types of medical equipment. A spot light shone down from above, highlighting his body. Everything seemed to be surrounded by a sheet of curved glass, completely encircling him before reaching up to the ceiling.

"Is that…you…Sonic?" Another voice asked. The blue hedgehog paused, rubbed his forehead before looking out towards the room beyond the class. At least half the crew of the Typhoon was there, all staring him with wide eyes, their breath held in anticipation. Amy was almost pressed against the glass, while all the others kept back to a safe distance.

"Of course it's me." The hedgehog replied with a weak smile. "Who else would it be?" Amy's worried expression melted away into a smile of intense relief. "What's with the 'behind glass' display?"

"We had to make sure you weren't going to go nuts after you woke up." Eggman replied, an intense smug look on his face at seeing his arch nemesis in a prison. Sonic suddenly looked confused, not remembering what the Doctor was talking about. Then a flash of memory ran through his mind and he was forced to put a hand on his head as it's intensity.

"Woah…" He began, recall finally telling him exactly what had happened. How the negative Energy had forced him to transform into Dark Super Sonic and while in that state, he had almost destroyed them all. "What…was that….was that all me?"

"No." Came the steadfast reply from Cosmo, who stood nearly, staring up at him with her sea blue eyes. "I warned you the darkness would take over your mind, and it did. The darkness was to blame for all that, not you."

"She's right." Knuckles added, crossing his arms. The Echidna was bandaged all over his body and dreadlocks, showing he'd taken a beating while tangling with Dark Super Sonic; In fact, a lot of those around him had had first aid. Okida had his arm in a sling, Topaz had a patched cut on her shoulder and even Amy had a few bruises to show for her efforts. "Prolonged exposure to Negative Chaos energy acts like a hallucinogenic. It alters the mind's perceptions, warping them to violent parodies of their former selves." Sonic looked down at his feet, unable to meet their eyes. "It could have happened to anyone."

"But it happened to me." The hedgehog replied. "Whenever I used the Chaos Emeralds before, I was always in control. This time…it was so different." He managed a smile. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a Chaos Emerald in quite the same way." Suddenly he looked up, remembering something important. "What about those nine fakes? What happens to them?"

"Decoe just cleared up the fragments." Eggman replied. "When the original emeralds and the nine cloned ones came together, the fakes couldn't handle the force exchange. They shattered, and the Negative energy itself was absorbed into the Master Emerald." Sonic suddenly looked alarmed.

"You mean that energy's still out there?" He was livid at the possibility of that power being used to twist him back into Dark Super Sonic. Knuckles laughed.

"Not for much longer. The Master Emerald is source of nothing but Positive Chaos Energy. Even as we speak, the Negative stuff it took in is being diluted. Within the next half hour, there won't be any of it left." The blue hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief.

"What concerns me if how close Metal X came to cloning Emeralds." Chuck ventured. "Their lab was destroyed in the fight, but even that can't guarantee they don't have another one somewhere with a set of Emeralds ready for use."

"Doubtful." Eggman replied. "Those energy collector towers they were using to harness the life-force of Mars were drawing in power from all over the planet. They wouldn't have the resources for another facility."

"Besides, we've got their three real Emeralds now." Okida announced. "Even if they try to build another lab, what they going to clone?"

"That last Emerald back on Earth?" Topaz asked. Sonic shook his head.

"No, I know how Metal Sonic thinks. He'll not try a compromise. Now we have his prizes, he'll come after us with everything he's got."

"I thought at much." Eggman announced, suddenly looking smug. "Which is why I spent the last hour working on the engines of the ship and the jump drive is now back online. We can be back on Earth within the hour."

"Not without Shadow and the others." Amy told him sternly. Eggman looked unimpressed.

"Shadow can take care of himself."

"And what about Bean, or Bark, or Hare?" Okida demanded. "As Freelance Division members, I am their commanding officer and I will not leave them at the Machine Federation's mercy."

"They're expendable." The doctor retorted angrily. "The emeralds we have in the energy core are not. Under no circumstances can we alloy Metal X the chance to seize them back. We leave as soon as possible."

"And since when do you give the orders?" Tails asked, giving the fat scientist a side glance. "Okida's right, we don't leave without those we came here with." Eggman growled.

"Fine." He said pouting. "But we take the ship up into a high orbit around the planet so we can get sensor reading of anything trying to approach and repairs can get underway without getting hazard by Metal X ships every five minutes." To that, Tails had little option but to agree.

"Can I get out of this thing now?" Sonic asked, hoping people hadn't forgotten he was still trapped inside a glass bubble.

"Oh no." Amy replied with a sly look on her face. "We have to make sure there's not an ounce of that negative stuff left in you. Now you're up, we're gonna have to run a few scans." Sonic suddenly looked stunned.

"Well how long is that gonna take?"

"About two hours." Tails replied, trying not to giggle. Cosmo couldn't help herself and had to cover her mouth with her hand at Sonic's expression. The blue hedgehog's ears dropped to the side of his head.

* * *

- 

Metal Sonic was, perhaps not as livid as he should be. . Sonic how had all three of the Chaos Emeralds Metal X had obtained, which is precisely what the robotic hedgehog had been counting on. The fact that three of his general's had been destroyed in the process was merely an incontinent consequence, and in the end, they got what they deserved for defying his orders.

Now, their ship was a shining beacon of Chaos energy. A sensor would have to be blind not to notice it. Now, nearly all the Chaos Emeralds lay within his grasp. While confident about his own abilities, he was not arrogant enough to assume the task of attacking them himself. And now with his forces depleted after his General's foolishness, he did not have the resources. The only co-ordinated clan left was Dark Oak's space forces, and they didn't have enough numbers.

"And so, here I am." A voice stated. Metal Sonic titled his head to look back over his shoulder towards the familiar figure of his benefactor, that strange shadowy being clad in a dark robe and who's face was hidden behind a steal mask. The visor, where the eyes should be was glowing bright green. "Ready to be of assistance." Metal Sonic did not trust him, and with good reason. This had been the figure to great him when he awakened in his reborn body, the one who re-built him after his first form had been destroyed. He had given no motive for his actions, so until he did, the robotic hedgehog was continue to regard him with the utmost suspicion.

Still, he was an ally.

"How can you help me?" It was safe to assume his nameless benefactor knew of his problem, so there was little need for him to explain it. The cloaked figure was silent as he walked over, ascending a set of stairs to the lord of Metal X's platform to stare out the window down to the planet Mars below.

"I have resources that you do not." He replied, looking out the window to the carpet of stars. Metal Sonic chuckled once.

_"__Even you can't pull an army out of thin air."_ The robot stated, crossing his arms.

"Can't I?" The benefactor asked with a humoured tint to his voice. Metal Sonic cast him a side glance.

_"Something you'd like to share with me?"_ The cloaked figure was silent, then looked up towards an especially bright star almost directly in front of them.

"Compared to the rest of the universe, both Earth and Mars are completely insufficient." He stated, spreading his arms, revealing a hand. It was almost completely white and thin like bones, but with skin. "It is from there I can obtain allies for you." Metal Sonic's eyes blared blood red.

_"__Enough secrets. What are you saying?"_ The benefactor chuckled out load.

"Your galaxy, the one the people of Earth call the milky way, contains billions of worlds. Over seventy percent of them are overflowing with life. In this spiral arm of the galaxy alone are empires spanning entire planets." He looked sideways at Metal Sonic. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of securing the Machine Federation aid from one of these." Before Metal Sonic ask what he meant by there, it happened.

The space outside the Behemoth seemed to ripple as a loud humming sound began to increase in volume. Everything outside blurred sickeningly as another vessel emerged above it through a jump worm hole. Metal Sonic looked up as a giant shadow began sweeping over his own ship.

The vessel he was looking up as huge, larger then his own ship by far. It was curved around and completely streamlined. It looked as if nothing, not even a weapons array had been designed out of place to sacrifice the ship's manoeuvrability in space. The outside of the ship was a pale and soft blue, with thick green lines glowing intently running over the surface like runes. Even from the vantage point of his ship, it was impossible for the robotic hedgehog to see it all. It was simply far too large.

It was triangular in horizontal shape, but strongly rounded towards the back like a pizza slice. On the straight sides were perfectly curved wings that dipped below the craft's underbelly before looping around towards the back, ending between the two giant thrusters.

That wasn't all. All around it were dozens of smaller ships. The main vessel drafted them, but they were huge in their own right. The smallest ones appeared to be simple transport ships, shaped like the larger but slimmer in proportion.

The battleships were not like the others, they were cigar shaped with undersides that curved down, the back end completely flat. Metal Sonic couldn't see anything that looked like weapons, but he guessed that what they used for offensive weaponry came from two engraved lines that ran along it's top.

Long ships were probably simple transports, lacking anything that served as weaponry. It's shape suggested it was suited for speed and defence.

Metal Sonic had felt secure in the confines of his Flagship, the Behemoth. Compared to the display around him, that security seemed ripped away.

_"What are you?"_ Metal Sonic demanded, turning to face his cloaked benefactor. _"And what game is this supposed to be?"_

Metal Sonic demanded, turning to face his cloaked benefactor. 

"I haven't overstepped my bounds I hope?" He asked in reply. "Besides, do you really care what or who I am as long as you win?"

"Why did you revive me in the first place? What is it you want me to do?"

"What I want you to do is to stop shilly-shallying and kill Sonic." He gestured up towards the space ship in front of him. "You're powerful enough to defeat him in single combat, and now you have the resources to deal with his compatriots. Destroy him, don't use theatrics. Rush him, overwhelm him before he has a chance to fight back and kill him."

_"Sonic deserves no better."_ Metal Sonic admitted. _"But the vendetta is mine, and my need for retribution will not be satisfied until I beat him, one on one, in combat. A fair fight to the finish. That is all I want."_

From the deck of the Behemoth, Dark Oak watched the approaching fleet with his arms crossed. So far, everything was proceeding according to plan. Sonic had the Chaos Emeralds, Metal Sonic and the Machine federation were ready for combat, and now THEY were here. Everything was in place and now all that they needed to do was light the fuse, sit back and watch the fireworks.

Looking to his side, the last of the Metal X general's regarded the planet earth in the distance. These two planets had almost served their purpose and there would be little need to tolerate the existence of civilisation on their surfaces once they had.

**"Do not be to hasty to destroy my servant."** The voice of the master resonated through his mind. **"They can have many practical uses. The planet itself you can do as you wish with, but do not be quick to kill off good slave labour."**

The voice of the master resonated through his mind. 

"Very well Master."

* * *

End lyrics

Mirai

Are you prepared to go on the journey?  
Just one more morning to come,  
Put on a new shirt and,  
Sneak out into the night,

Today, the city won't sleep either,  
It will just watch quietly,  
What you and I will start!

To be shine, to be free,  
Do not be bewildered,  
The waves of time are strong but gentle,  
Very soon, very soon, I'm going out to meet you,  
Together, our world will shine,

To be shine, to be free,  
Don't be frightened,  
The waves of time are strong but gentle,

We'll meet in that far and distant city,  
Very soon, very soon, I'm going out to meet you,  
Let's go and find our future.

* * *

(In Chris' voice) 

Battles fought, won and lost have been all leading to this…..

Mysterious ages old are revealed and willpowers are put to the test..

The fate of not just the world, but the galaxy rests on the shoulders of our heroes.

Who are allies and who are enemies, all if revealed as the Dark Ages reached it's crux.

Chaotix fly back into action as Cream wants to head into space to give Sonic her Chaos Emerald! As if finding a spaceship wasn't enough, trouble's back in town as Fang the Sniper escapes from jail! But is the infamous mercenary the real threat, or does something more sinister lurk on the horizon? See what happens next time as the Black Arms Saga begins with, Revenge of the Weasel! Don't miss it!

* * *

(End of Saga notes) 

Wow, a 12 episode saga, I didn't think I was pull it off. Did anyone like the finale? I wasn't going to include Dark Super Sonic, but someone recommended the idea and I thought this would be a good way to finish the Metal X saga.

Where do Dark Oak's loyalties really lie? Just who is that Benefactor of Metal Sonic's? And whose' controlling them both from behind the scenes? Just wait and see!


	45. Episode 23

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

* * *

The Black Arms Saga

Episode 23: Revenge of the Weasel

* * *

There was nothing particularly special about this solar system, apart from an unusual number of planets orbiting a single sun. But since most of them were uninhabitable they did not draw much interest. What was unique however were the two planets third and fourth away from their sun. The fourth planet had obviously recently been terra-formed, residual energy readings were high and clearly a good deal of advanced technology had been used in the process.

The third planet was of very special interest. It was teaming with life and had a flourishing civilisation on it's surface. Scans showed it's technology level was reaching the point when they could start practical space travel. But apart from this, sensor readings showed an extremely powerful dimension flux surrounding the planet. A few tests needed to be run but from all current data available, this was apparently a 'fused' world.

It was a very special occurrence, especially in this sector of the galaxy which was considered relatively stable. Dimensions rarely collided with one another, yet alone merged into one. Not only that, but both of these two planets had a Chaos energy signature, the atmosphere of both worlds was rank with it. Clearly these two planets were worthy of further investigation. This seemed all too good to be true. This solar system had everything they had been searching for these long eons, finally they could stop running.

However, their source had already informed them of the violent tendencies and attitudes of the civilisation below on the third planet and given it's current technology level, that could make them a threat, and threats could not be tolerated. Their need for the survival of their sect would not permit that.

* * *

-

There weren't a lot of vehicles on the highway as the convoy consisting off a truck, several cops of motorbikes and a few Beetle robots acting as an escort; started their journey.

As the prisoner was awaiting trail, officials decided to transfer him to holding facility with a higher security level. The mobian had already proven very cunning and picking even the most advanced of locks was child's play. He was dangerous, having killed more than once and was more than capable of doing it again if he ever got his hands on another weapon.

"You look pretty happy for some guy looking at a life sentence." One of the guards inside the truck commented to the weasel, who sat between the two Laser Hunter robots, his hands cuffed and two rifles pointed at his head. The weasel had bright purple fur and sharp eyes; a thin smile was spread over his face, one large tooth descending over his lips.

Apart from a pair of gloves and boots he wore nothing. Most mobians preferred to go without clothes anyway. They had fur or scales to conceal their unmentionables.

"I hear they serve good bread and water in the new place." The weasel replied, but the guard could detect something else in his tone and in the way he smiled sadistically at her. She couldn't see what he had to be happy about. He'd been found guilty to at least one count of murder and various other crimes which includes theft, assault, damage of public property and numerous parking offences. His total estimated time was calculated as at least thirty years, if not longer. "Besides, you never know, I might get out earlier for good behaviour?" He added, his sickening smirk widening. She doubted he had ever been capable of good behaviour, even as a child.

He was like a kid who liked to pull the wings of insects and then dried to drown them in puddles. "I might even avoid prison entirely."

"Doubt it, not with your record. There's not a lawyer on this planet who can help you now." The weasel chuckled in response.

"What makes you think I even intend to set foot inside a courtroom?"

Suddenly, a loud booming sound rang out and suddenly the truck swerved to the side, before ploughing through several cars and into the side of a tree. The police offers on motor bikes had to swerve out of the way as laser rifle shots rang out of nowhere, carving huge pot holes in the road.

"This is squad Alpha, we're under attack!" Someone cried, before the chaos began. The last few remaining members of the sharp shooters gang ambushed the convoy and with the element of surprise in their favour, they quickly had all the protection for the truck neutralised.

That is until the back of the vehicle was forced violently outwards and the two Laser Hunters arrived on the scenes. These advanced military robots scanned the area through the smoke and locked onto several targets, raising their arms and firing several blasts from the weapons on their arms.

A sharpshooter went down, a laser blast hitting him directly in the chest, sending him cascading to the floor. Someone raised a rocket launcher on their shoulder and fired. The shot lacked in accuracy, passing right overhead

"Take this metal bastards!" Someone yelled and a small round object came hurtling through the air to land at their feet. Looking down, one of them saw it was a grenade, without the pin. Before it could move, the weapon exploded in a fire storm, the shockwave throwing both robots down off the road and into a ditch.

"About time boys." The weasel stated, looking coy as the Sharpshooters arrived at the truck itself. One of them raised his laser rifle and fired a single shot, breaking the hand cuffs that held the weasel's hand bound. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to bother."

"Not a chance boss." Another told him. "Oh, and this is yours I believe." He added, handing the weasel a canvas brown hat. The mobian smiled sadistically, taking it and putting it on his head, reassuming the persona of Fang the Sniper.

"Oh this is so much better." Fang muttered as one of his boys handed him a gun. "I can't tell you how much I missed one of these." Stepping out of the truck and now officially free, Fang the Sniper quickly jumped into the Sharpshooters' getaway vehicle, a military style jeep painted black. "I'm impressed boys, you thought of anything."

"Thought you be impressed boss." One of them laughed roughly. By now the intense blare of police back up on it's way was beginning to ebb on the horizon.

"Sadly though…." Fang began, turning and without hesitation, shooting the sharp shooter in the drivers seat and kicking his body out of the way. "I've not need for any of you anymore."

"Boss, what are you doing?" Another demanded as Fang turned the keys in the ignition.

"What's it look like simpleton?" The weasel replied, his sadistic seer wide over his lips, the edge of the single tooth that gave him his name glinting in the early morning light. "I'm going solo!" With that, he drove off, leaving the loyal members of his own gang at the mercy of the police that came roaring onto the scene from the other direction.

Fang has no loyalties, that was something they were supposed to know already. He appreciated them ending his prison life before it started but still, for what he had in mine he didn't need them. Besides, it was their clear ignorance that got him in that situation in the first place.

Right now, all Fang had on his mind was the one thing he had promised himself he would do once he was out of the cop's grasp. There was single bullet in this gun of his with a certain chameleon's name on it.

* * *

-

Business had been slow for a while in Chaotix's line of work. Hardly a single case had come in over the last few months, as if most criminals were scared to so much as snatch a purse. Vector put it down to their rep as hardened crime fighters getting around, Espio however; being far more realistic, knew it was because of that new stance on crime G.U.N was adopting. That, accompanied by its new Flying ship fleet, made it very intimating to those in the Criminal underworld.

Chaotix considered it a good day when they saw at least two of the ships flying overhead. They had the shape of Air craft carriers, yet had been adapted into flying versions with thrusters on their underside instead of propellers. That was an impressive display of authority so no one in their right mind was going to step out of line which that thing flying above.

"Well, there's a silver lining to all this." Vector remarked, placing the last of the documents on the 'finished' pile on his desk.

"And what's that?" Espio asked, staring out at the G.U.N ship flying above New York, hovering there at silently as a cloud. They were several of those things scattered around the country over Major metropolitan areas in an effort to raise the already very low public opinion of G.U.N; the chameleon mused silently.

"All this down time gave me an opportunity to get all this out of the way." Vector replied, standing up from his work at the giant pile of documents that was at least as tall as he was. Espio rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's not as if we have to get a case each day to pay the rent anymore." The crocodile added, reminding the chameleon of their luck in coming third in the Emerald Grand Prix and earning the prize money. That cash had paid off all their debts and had upgrading their agency. Now instead of some single room apartment in the downtown of Station square, they could afford a penthouse in New York were the big business was.

"There was a break in at the Twelve cents bank at the north side of town." Rei the flying squirrel announced, flipping over the news paper in his hands to reveal the title page. The words 'Bank Busted' were printed across the top in big black letters.

"Nah, not big enough." Vector commented, rubbing the end of his snout in thought. After they had finally brought down Fang the Sniper and got him sent down for the murder of their old friend, Mighty the Armadillo Vector had been anticipating another case to sink his teeth into, something really adventurous to really get his blood going. He seemed one step away from signing them all up for the army just for the thrill of it.

"I hear rumours of an illegal arms shipment being brought in from abroad." Beck, their own human member added as he sat in front of a fan. Right now, New York was in the middle of a heat wave and the nation grid was being taxed as people were overusing thousands of cooling devices.

"That's something for the Fed's." Espio replied. "Besides, after that last time we got in a case with them, I doubt they'd be too willing to share." Vector shuddered, remembering that whole fiasco. Trying to bust a whole of smugglers some time ago, Chaotix had ended up tripping over the F.B.I's own sting operation. It took a lot of talking on Vector's end to stop the men in black from sending them all to jail. That was something they'd all like to forget.

"Hey Vector, there's someone here to see you." Charmee announced, flying through the door into Vector's office. The crocodile leapt to his feet, rubbing his hands in relish.

"Great, a case at last!" He declared with a wide, tooth filled grin.

"Oh no, it's not a client." Charmee added quickly. The crocodile suddenly looked very disappointed and slumped back into his chair, looking furlong.

"Well who is it then?" He asked, looking disinterested. Charmee gained a very large smirk in response.

"Well, she had long ears, brown eyes…" Before the bee could continue, Vector seemed to get his bounce back in an instant, shooting to his feet and making for the door.

"It's Vanilla isn't it?" Espio asked with levelled eyes at they watched Vector bundle himself out the door, almost tripping over his feet. The bee nodded enthusiastically, before bursting into childish laughter. The chameleon groaned.

Vector still hadn't abandoned this infatuation with her, if anything he seemed even more head over heals whenever someone who much as mentioned her name. In fact, when they'd been at the park the other day on their day off, Charmee had asked him what flavour ice-cream he wanted and suddenly the crocodile looked absolutely smitten, staring off into space.

"Ah, Miss Vanilla, welcome to the Chaotix detective agency headquarters." They could hear his voice through the wall. Quickly they all rushed to the door to see what was going on.

Not only was Vanilla there, but so was Cream and her robot friend; Emerl, who despite the blistering heat was still disguising himself in his trench coat and hat. Vanilla herself was wearing a summer dress with a straw hat; two holes for her ears had been made in the top. Cream was wearing her usual attire, but her mother had brought her a straw hat of her own. Cheese the Chao was hitting in Vanilla's hat, playing with the straw.

Vanilla's dress was, to Espio's distaste and Vector's delight, quite flattering; revealing that despite being a full time mother she had quite an attractive figure. "And what brings you here?"

"We're hiring." Vanilla replied with a bright smile.

"Hiring?" Vector repeated, looking a bit confused.

"Well, I don't know where else to turn with this, so I was hoping you could help us with a little problem." The she-rabbit explained. Espio instantly changed his opinion of Vanilla, the word 'hiring' meant she was offering money and that made her alright in his opinion.

"The skills of the agency are at your disposal." Vector announced, smacking his chest with a fist. "Whatever the task, whatever the job…"

"Whatever the pay, Whatever the perks." Charmee giggled. The crocodile shot them all a side glance over his shoulder.

"We need to take this to Sonic." Cream announced, holding up the dark blue Chaos Emerald they had found in central park, before being ambushed by Fang the Sniper and the Sharpshooters gang. "Only problem is he's on Mar's right now."

"Mars?" All of Chaotix repeated. A lot of rumours had been going around about Mars, especially since it's transformation by an unknown force. Apparently, Sonic had gone up there to see what was going on first hand.

"We were hoping that you could help us get up there." Vanilla explained. Espio tried to signal to Vector not to land them in any tricky situations, but once again with his mouth acting faster than his brain, the crocodile simply announced;

"No problem!" Espio slapped his forehead. In less than three words Vector had landed them in another fine predicament, one he doubted they would be able to wiggle out of easily. "You wanna to go into outer space, you got it!"

"Excuse me Vector, can I have a word with you in private?" Espio asked, already pushing their leader back towards the office. "We'll be right back." He added with a faked grin, before shoving Vector inside. "What is wrong with you?" The chameleon demanded, shutting the door behind him.

"What? This sounds like just the thing we've been looking for!" Vector declared, crossing his arms behind his back. Espio raised a none-existant eyebrow. "We want adventure, and what could be more adventurous than a crusade into space? Think about it, cruising the asteroid belt and the ring around the planet, before heading to the planet Mars to fight evil robots and deliver something of vital strategic importance." Clearly Vector had gone clinically insane.

"And just where do you plan to get something that can get us up there?" The chameleon asked with levelled eyes. Vector suddenly looked thoughtful; then he turned to stare out the window towards the floating G.U.N ship over the city. Espio followed his gaze and then read his thoughts by the sadistic expression on his face. "Oh no…no…no!"

"It's perfect!" Vector announced, rubbing his hands together with glee. "The Government said themselves those ships can go into space, and they've got plenty of them; I'm sure they won't miss one."

"If we get caught, they'll lock the whole lot of us up and throw away the key!" Espio hissed.

"We're not going to steal it, just…borrow. We'll give it back when we're done." Vector argued. "Besides, these are just the blood rushing risks I was hoping for." When Vector was like this, there was no reasoning with him. Once in this mode, he was a bulldozer demolishing everything and everyone in his way.

"Oh, give me strength." The chameleon sighed up towards the ceiling.

"Come on Esp, don't tell me you don't relish the idea of an adventure?" The crocodile asked, staring off at that ship with a deep gleam in his eyes.

"Adventure yes. Getting arrested for theft of government property, no." Vector simply chuckled and placed a large hand on the chameleon's shoulder.

"I thought you wanted to keep Cream on Earth." Rei began while Epsio and Vector were having their 'discussion' in the other room. "Why the sudden change of mind?" Vanilla smiled.

"We aren't going to be there that long." She explained. "Just drop off a Chaos Emerald and go, and besides, having Chaotix as escorts makes us as safe as if we were with Sonic himself."

Beck and Charmee cast each other nervous glances.

"Well, I've discussed it with my legal adviser…" Vector announced, stepping out of the office with a peeved off Espio in tow. "Chaotix is at your disposal Miss Vanilla, we'll have you and your daughter up in space before you know it."

"We will?" Rei asked, looking towards Espio in particular.

"We will." Espio repeated, looking utterly defeated. Vanilla giggled, holding a hand to her mouth quickly to soften the noise.

"I knew we could count of you Vector."

"Chao Chao." Cheese added from the top of her hat.

"Glad to be of service." The crocodile replied, despite his green scales appearing red as he blushed.

"This is what happened to the Beatles isn't it?. A girl makes eyes at one of the group and the whole thing fall apart?" Beck asked Chamree, who giggled under his breath.

"I'm assuming you have a plan." Espio began as Chaotix made preparations for…loan of a G.U.N space ship. Vector was still sorting through details for the trip, like stockpiling supplies and other essentials. All he lacked now was the means to actually get into space. Most of Chaotix was having reservation about Vector's mental state when he made the decision. True all of them was thirsting for adventure, but propelling themselves beyond the stratosphere isn't quite what they had had in mind. But Vector had not lead them, **_drastically_**, wrong before so they went along with his plan. Besides, Vanilla was paying them a good deal of cash for the simple escort there and back and with a big pad of the green stuff at the end of the day to show for it, they could ignore their leader's infatuation with her. "Your not just going to up to the G.U.N registry office and ask if you can **_please _**borrow one of their new military vessels."

"I don't have to get it myself." Vector replied confidentially. Beck, Charmee and Rei were busy stacking their supplies in the basement. There they would stay until Vector got their supposed space craft. Vanilla, her daughter and their robot were on standby with their own things. All they were waiting for was Vector's word so they could meet up. "I know a couple of people who can get one for us." Espio's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Vector…" He breathed in utter surprise. "You didn't pay someone to steal one did you?" Vector gained a near sadistic grin. "Oh you did!"

"Not steal." The crocodile persisted. "Just borrow."

"Vector, you still paid someone to take a piece of Government equipment without asking." Espio told him sternly. "If they ever find out what you're doing, you are up and the creek without a paddle."

"Don't worry, I already thought of that." Vector replied, leaning back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head and grinning inanely. "The account name was a dummy one so when the G.U.N agents come looking for the guy who had their space ship nicked, they'll be looking for some guy whose doesn't even exist." Espio groaned and banged his head several times on the desk.

"Vector, I swear if it wasn't for your dumb luck, you'd have had us all shot by now. You really think that'll keep the 'Big Brother surveillance' guys off your back?"

"Oh they'll have more urgent things to worry about then one missing ship if I smell the way the wind's blowing." Espio, now with a headache looking up with a raised eyebrow in question. "Despite the Eggman Empire attacks, a good lot of people aren't happy with G.U.N. They say they're using the threat as an excuse to remove civil liberties."

"What?" Espio asked.

"There's a lot of dissents among the people out there. If G.U.N ain't too careful, the next security measure it passes will have everyone in outright rebellion." Espio looked little nonplussed.

"Aren't you being a little melodramatic?" Vector shook his head.

"Not really, after those Elite and Foundation guys were exposed, the publics been on the lookout for shadow masters behind the scenes. Conspiracy theories seemed to be all the range nowadays." Espio sighed and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Don't tell me you go in for all that?" Vector pushed a book labelled 'Hundred greatest conspiracy theories' out of sight while Espio wasn't looking. "Man, I've got no reason to trust the government either, but that's taking it a little too far."

"Tell that to the guys who sprayed anti-government graffiti over every street wall for a mile."

It was about mid night when Vector's contact arrived at the agency headquarters, a mobian gecko who remained as much in the shadows as he could when they met. He was a representative of a highly secretive group Vector had contacted, hoping that they could procure him one of the G.U.N fleet's space craft. The organisation was so secret, not even the criminal underworld was aware of it's name. Vector had only managed to contact them through Swift, who had contacts in almost every secretive societies across the nation.

"It was a big order." The gecko began. "I hope you've got the green for it." "Vector simply opened a silver briefcase. This groups services were anything but cheep, but thankfully the fee would not make them bankrupt either.

"You have the ship?"

"We have it, ready for use as well. It's a small one, but it's the best we could get. G.U.N isn't in a sharing mood. All it needs are supplies and a crew."

"I'll take care of that end." Vector replied, folding his arms before passing the briefcase to Espio. The case contained only half of the fee, the first half they got in advance. Only when the space ship was in their hands would they hand over the rest. Espio was insisted on coming along to supervise Vector, who was a very loose cannon as it was. "So, where is it?"

The gecko lead them around to the harbour. Under the cover of darkness, no one noticed the ship in the water, snuck in between two large fraters. It was clearly one of the G.U.N fleet, with it's aircraft crier like design and 'G' symbol on each side, barley hidden under a large canvas sheet.

"Here as agreed." The gecko announced. "It's in perfect condition. As for flying the thing, you're on your own with that."

"That is a good point Vector." Espio argued once their other lizard friend had sulked away, as if afraid of his own shadow, vanishing into the night. "Do you know to fly a space ship?" Vector hesitated, finally hitting a brick wall with this plan.

The gecko crept away into the depths of the city. His employers had had to bend over backwards to get that ship away from a G.U.N base and they were not exactly happy with the client either. Chaotix had been seriously cutting into their business opportunities with their crusade on crime.

This, they saw, was the perfect way to get rid of the agency.

"About time you showed up." A voice from the dark of an alley stated. Looking up, the lizard saw the short figure of a mobian leaning against the wall between a pair of trashcans. "Did they take the ship?"

"Yeah they took it, and engines are rigged with the device that'll short-circuit them." the lizard reached into his pocket and withdrew a small remote control. Nimbly he tossed it through the air towards the mobian, who caught it in his left hand. "That'll shut the ship down for about ten minutes. You could just shut them down as they try to leave the planet, let them fall to their deaths."

"Oh, now that would spoil all my fun." He replied, tucking the device into his belt. "It's a cliché statement, but it's true; revenge is a dish best served cold." Fang the Sniper grinned, spinning a gun around his finger before sliding it down into the holster at his side.

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Fang the Sniper

Description: Mercenary and thug for hire, recently 'liberated' from the custody of the police.


	46. Episode 23, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: The Black Arms Sect

Description: This mysterious group of extra terrestrials have arrived and a great war is about to begin. Whether or not their intentions are benevolent or malicious are yet to be revealed, but clearly a darker force is acting a puppeteer behind the scenes.

* * *

- 

"I can't explain, but this is real important." Shadow began to the others, who stood there in his presence with dumbfounded looks on his faces. "I have to get back to Earth and find this 'legacy' Prof. Gerald left behind." Stranded away from the others and the Blue Typhoon, Shadow was preparing to return them all to Earth with a Chaos Control, having built up enough energy to teleport the five of them that extreme distance. None of them could be more glad to be leaving Metal X territory behind.

"The last thing he left behind nearly destroyed the planet." Hare side whispered to Bean. "Do we really need his legacy?" Shadow silenced any of them from replying by fixing them with a glare like a vice, freezing any words in their throats.

"Just what is this legacy of his?" Bark asked sceptically. "What is it supposed to do?"

"I don't know." Shadow admitted, folding his arms. "But it's important and if we don't find out what it is and how to use it, then we have a serious problem on our hands." The three of them cast each other nervous glances. "And.." he paused, as if reluctant to finish the sentence. "I need your help."

"Our help?" Bean repeated. "What for?"

"You're part of G.U.N." The black and red Hedgehog explained. "You're not top ranking general's, but you can get me past all their stupid red tape. Besides, something tells me they won't be too eager to share information with a being they tried so hard to destroy back on ARK." Suddenly, he turned and shuddered, some wave of invisible energy passing through him; forcing a near ever present feeling of sickness over his body.

"Hey, what's that?" Bark asked, gesturing up towards the sky through the tree tops. Looking up, all of them saw a bright blue light like a second sun erupt across beyond the clouds, blinking several times like an intensely bright star, before disappearing. The others could not know but that light had pulsed intense amounts of Chaos Energy, as if the mass majority of the Chaos Emeralds had been rippled at once. That did not bode well, for as far as Shadow knew, most of the Emeralds were with the Machine Federation.

Still, he had priorities right now. Perhaps this was the thing Gerald had been trying to warn him against, or perhaps not. It wasn't a good idea to risk it.

"Sonic can handle it, whatever it is." He stated. "Right now, this is too important to ignore."

"That looked pretty important too." Hare remarked, rubbing his eyes as he caught the flare head on and it was causing him to see spots.

"Shadow's right, Sonic and the others are more than capable of handling it themselves." Bark announced. "We'd just get in the way right now."

"What about the Major?" Bean asked.

"Glad to see the back of him myself." Hare remarked callously, still upset with Okida for getting him drafted. That earned him two intense glares from Bean and Bark. "Although I wish him luck." The mobian rabbit added quickly.

"So, what's it going to be?" Shadow asked, interrupting the course of the conversation.

"Fine, if it gets me back to Earth, I'll go along with it." Hare said a little too quickly for Shadow's taste.

"Don't like leaving the Major here, but he and the others can work things out themselves easy enough." Bark replied. "Fine, I'm in."

"Ditto." Bean added.

Shadow looked back over his shoulder towards Tikal, who was standing nearby gazing up at the sky, towards the blue glow that was slowly fading away in the sky. He didn't know why he knew, but he knew she could sense Chaos Energy; so it was apparent she was trying to find out what that flash of light was. By the disappointed look on her face, she did not look like she was having much luck.

"You coming?" The black and red hedgehog asked, gaining her attention. Tikal looked back, a plain emotionless expression on her face. Before a short grin spread over her lips.

"Sure."

* * *

- 

Chaotix, or rather more accurately Vector; had hidden the space ship stolen (or as Vector kept telling them, 'borrowed') from G.U.N just outside down in a run down district. The police, now pressed as hard as ever, didn't have time to go around the beat in this part of the neighbourhood. It wasn't the best launch site in the world, but it would have to do for.

"I can't decide what scares me more." Espio announced as Vector readied the ship for take off. They had concealed it between two condemned buildings, making sure they were vacant so nothing would be burnt to a cinder when they took off. "That you came up with idea in the first place, or that you're getting away with it."

"Oh stop complaining." The crocodile retorted, placing a small crate of their supplies down on the floor. "We aren't going to get arrested so put a sock in it." Espio simply sighed, crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back into his seat.

"Oh Vector…" Charmee called up without the trap door into the cockpit. "Guess who's here?" Quickly the bee darted out of the way as a green scaly blur shot past, nearly fell down the stairs before shooting down the corridor beyond. Espio looked out the window in the cockpit to see Vanilla and her daughter approach, accompanied by that Gizoid robot of theirs.

"That's the last of it." Rei remarked, pushing the large crate onto the forklift Beck had hired as the human raised it along with several hours before transporting them back into the ship's hold. Looking around, the fly squirrel saw the rabbits and their robot walking towards them. "Oh hi Van…" He never got the opportunity to finish the sentence as Vector came soured up and pushed him out of the way in order to be the sole object of Vanilla's attention.

"We're ready when you are." The crocodile began. "The ships ready…" he paused, seeing the suitcases Emerl had in each hand. One pink and covered with flowers patterns and the other more plain. "And see, so are you." Vanilla nodded with a short giggle.

"Even though we're only going for a day or two but we ended up packing for a week anyway."

"The ships perfect, checked her myself." The crocodile stated proudly, jabbing his chest with his thumb. Rei crumbled loudly to himself, more like Vector had ordered THEM to check it.

What Vector didn't know however was that his ship had an unwanted stowaway. Hiding inside one of the crates Beck was loading onto the ship was the agencies worst enemy, armed with a way to finish them all; only waiting for his moment to strike.

"Good thing Emerl knows how to fly it." Espio remarked flatly as the Gizoid robot took up a place in the pilots seat. "Or this latest hair-brained scheme would be dead in the water."

Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Vector remarked, sitting into his own seat and putting his feet up on a flat surface in front of him.

"And don't forget to put your trays in their upright and locked positions." Charmee added with a long laugh, buzzing around the chameleon's head until Espio shooed him away.

"Ever been into space before?" Rei asked Beck who was sitting in the seat on his opposite side. Beck gave him a flat look as if to ask: what kind of question is that?' Rei managed a nervous smile.

A lone G.U.N beetle robot had been dispatched to this area of the city as the military was finding it hard to patrol everywhere. They were stretched a little thin as it was, preparing their fleet for the inevitable confrontation with an enemy. At the moment, for law enforcement at least, all they could afford to send out were single robots.

This one got lucky however and if a single loud roar, the G.U.N ship that had been reported missing yesterday came roaring up from between the buildings, souring upwards towards the sky, reaching fantastic heights before it had a chance to sent an emergency report to G.U.N command.

"To boldly go where no-one has gone before!" Charmee yelled out as their stolen, or borrowed, ship soured higher and higher in the space of a few seconds.

"Now is not the time!" Vector called back to him, the roar of the outside speeds browning out his own voice, until suddenly that broke out through the atmosphere and after that, only silence endured. The blue sky outside the window faded away and the black of space appeared, along with the twinkling of many stars.

"Woah, what a ride." Beck commented, holding both hands to the side of his head. "I don't recommend that for people with heart problems."

"You could have mentioned that earlier." Espio said, slouching in his seat, looking drained.

"You have a heart problem?" Rei asked, looking past the seat in front of him.

"Comes from working with Vector for so long."

"See mom, this is what it's like." Cream began, describing to her mother her last trip into space aboard the Icarus, which ended up in the middle of a Maginaryworld civil war.

Vanilla however was not too found of the view from out the window had had to turn away. She was only agreed to her daughters request to go into space so long as soon as Sonic had their Chaos Emerald, they left to go home. Emerl could protect her, but still she would rather not have Cream racing into a war zone.

"Attention, you are piloting a stolen registered G.U.N vehicle. Turn back at once." A loud voice barked over the console communication system, causing Vector to grimace. Emerl simply turned the com system off and continued on.

"Hope your happy." Espio remarked up to their leader. "When we get back, we'll be arrested the moment we step on the ground."

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." Vector replied, assuming all of them that he had everything under control.

With one solid kick, the lid of the crate flew off and Fang the Sniper pushed his way out. Chaotix had certainly gone slightly more professional from the days when he was a member, but they were still bumbling idiots. What kind of amateurs didn't check their baggage first? They were just asking for trouble.

Fang found himself in the holding area at the back of the ship, amidst a large amount of crates, most of which were empty shells that came with the stolen G.U.N property. The ones actually belonging to Chaotix were made of wood and stacked up in a pile nearby.

"Right, now let's get crackin'." The weasel muttered to himself, reaching to his belt and lifting the device the gecko had given him from a hook. "It's show time!"

"Hey, what the!" Vector exclaimed as the ship suddenly lurched forward and sudden the loud humming of the engines at the back of the ship cut out. Emerl tried to reactive them, but found the control unresponsive. The ship wasn't beyond the pull of the planet's gravity yet and without those engines online, they'd burn up as they fell back into the atmosphere.

"You should have gotten a warrantee." Rei remarked as Vector glanced out the window to see the engines on the side. They had stopped alright, but there didn't appear to be wrong with them, at least on the outside.

"Espio, Charmee; go see what the problem is." The crocodile stated, gesturing to the two of them.

"Once again, we end up doing the dirty work." Espio sighed, undoing his seatbelt.

To get to the engine room they had to go through the cargo bay where Vector had stashed their extensive, and utterly unnecessary supplies. A long maze of metal crates that had come with the ship lay before them, the door to the engine room on the far side. A long window ran down the let hand side, showing a great view of the planet below and fait blue glow of the atmosphere surrounding it.

"Charmee, why don't you fly over the top and get there quicker." The bee nodded and flew over the top of one of the crates and out of sight. A single later, a loud bang rang out through the metal room and Charmee came hurtling back, darting behind Espio like a scared child.

"I thought I told you to watch your back." A voice stated. Espio snarled and shot around to face his nemesis standing there on top of a crate, a gun tight in one hand and a sharp dagger in the other. Fang the Sniper, professional assassin and murderer. "You've been slouching in Vector's shadow for too long."

"So what should I have been doing, shooting innocent people like you?" The chameleon asked right back. The weasel chuckled deep in his throat, that sick sadistic sneer over his face. "Charmee, get out the way. I'll take care of him." The bee nodded and darted behind a metal crate in a blur of yellow and black.

"And I thought you of all of the agency would know better. There's no such thing as an innocent person." Fang replied, before he fired a shot at Espio, who darted backwards to avoid it before sending several shuriken flying through the air. Fang slide backs of the crate and they missed him. "Vector's still got you believing that bullshit about right and wrong." The weasel announced as their game of hunter and hunted began. "But I think you know better, you know there's no ultimate good or evil. They chance depending on where you stand."

"Right and wrong aren't deep rooted true, but what you did was evil; no doubt about it." Espio retorted, flipping a shuriken between his fingers between his fingers like a coin trying to catch even the slightly glimpse of the weasel.

"I don't see it that way." Fang replied, slipping between two crates. "What I did was clear away the refuse of my life and start over, the way I wanted to live it. Now, are done talking?"

Espio lunged at the Weasel from the top of a crate, tackling him to the ground with a loud thud. Fang kicked him off, before taking a swing at him with his dagger.

With a flick of his tail, Espio knocked both weapons out of Fang's hands with the weasel forced Espio to drop his own by punching him in the stomach.

Reducing to hand to hand combat, the two of them began exchanging heavy blows. Fang landed several against Espio's side, while the chameleon managed a tremendous kick against the weasel's chest.

"Now there something you don't see everyday." Fang and Espio stopped fighting to follow Chamree's gaze out the window was a think shadow began to cast itself over the ship. Vanilla and Vector in the front stared out at in in a mixture of awe and horror as a ship, tremendously superior in size to their own passed by.

"What in the world?" Beck stammered, staggering back from the window as it consumed the entire line of sight.

"I don't know, whatever it is much cost a lot of insurance." Rei replied, managing a terrible joke despite the bizarre and dangerous situation they were in.

* * *

- 

Alarms began screaming on every military base on earth; whatever satellites they had left were telling them a fleet had arrived from space and was approaching the planet. According to estimations, within the next few hours this fleet of unidentified flying objects would enter their astrosphere.

Already on high alert as it was, G.U.N was nearly sent in Chaos. They could not rule out the possibility that this was an invasion force by the Eggman Empire, or the Machine Federation; or both.

"Just what is going on?" The President demanded as condition 'red' was declared at the White House.

"It's an invasion sir." Christina replied as nearly every top level government official gathered in the oval office. "Long range telescopes and satellites have picked up a large fleet approaching the Earth."

"Where's it coming from?" The President asked, sitting down at in chair as reads and information were instantly broadcast onto the screen in front of him.

"Based on the intruder's trajectory, we estimate it left from the planet Mars." The secretary of defence told him, putting a fold full of papers down on the office table. "What are your orders sir?" The room grew silent as every fixed the President with a stare. The middle aged man stopped to take a deep breath, before flying into his command persona.

"This is it." He announced suddenly. "We've been preparing for this ever since Eggman first turned up. Whether it's him, Metal X or someone else, we have to assume the worse." He looked up towards the screen, seeing the sea of red dots that displayed possible hostiles slowly moving towards the circle that represented Earth's atmosphere. "Mobilise the G.U.N fleet, put them in an intercept position as far away from the atmosphere as they can and tell them to hold their fire until enemies can be confirmed."

"Yes sir." The general stated, saluting him.

"Is Giant Wing ready for use?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I'll be coming along." The announcement forced the room into silence.

"Sir…I'm not sure that's a very good idea." Christina began slowly.

"Modern day politicians stay behind the front line whenever countries went to war, cowardly expecting men to die for them while they remained safe in wealth." The President explained. "Where Kings and Emperors of the past were expected, no, demanded of; to fight alongside the men and they did so without question." He paused to swallow hard. This was his last term in office and he intended to go out with a bang. "I'll not be remembered as a Modern Politician should things go wrong."

* * *

- 

This place was unlike anything Sonic had seen before. It was like the walls were a welding of metal and flesh and somewhere above the small chamber that served as his cell was a thudding sound, as regular as a heartbeat, in fact; Sonic wasn't too sure it wasn't a heart beat. His arms and legs were bound by some strange liquid like substance that seemed to stand up on his own, forcing his hands into a fist above him and his legs to the wall below. This chamber was full of another type of liquid, a strange orange water that to his utter surprise, he found he could breath. In front of him was a glass window, at least it looked like glass and through this he could see another room. This was a long corridor made completely of metal it seemed, scribed with rune like symbols on the walls and with glowing green lines running down the engraved lines. Watching him back were two creature, humanoid in appearance, but twice his size and a good deal head and shoulders taller than the average human. They were dark grey in colour, yet the ends of their arms, legs and the front of their heads were blood red, their skin covered in thin scales. They had long, reptilian tails sweeping back down behind them. Their eyes were large and oval, coloured flaxen yellow. Whenever they blinked, the eyelids came in from either side to meet vertically in the middle. Their heads angled backwards over their shoulder blades, probably housing an enlarged brain.

"Kral-Pal-ki-ki at." One of them began to the other, speaking in that strange language he had heard them use, but was totally incapable of understanding what they were saying. The other nodded, before reaching down to some console beyond Sonic's line of sight and pressing a button. There was aloud humming sound as the blue hedgehog looked up to see a strange arm reach down from the top of the chamber. Like the rest of this place, it looked like something with metal bones but organic parts like muscles and skin. It descended down in front of the hedgehog and hovered there, three fat fingers expending outwards over Sonic's face.

The brief memory of what people claim to have undergone with being abducted by aliens passed briefly through his mind and he panicked, trying desperately to get away from the device as it slowly slid closer. With a sudden thrust, it clamped itself onto his face and now Sonic was reminded of what happened to those guys in that movie who had something alien attach itself to their faces.

And despite everything he'd already been through, Sonic was not quite ready to have something burst out of his stomach.

Thankfully, the device had clamped itself above his mouth and around his eyes and he watched as a strange light scanned them, passing down over the pupils before letting go.

They were studying him, that became clear. He was some kind of new animal to them and they were examining his body to see what he was.

"Karlik pal!" Another of their number entered through another door somewhere out of sight and the other two stepped away from the window. This new one was different to the others. It was slightly taller, a longer tail and had protective armour over it's arms and torso. Around it's neck was a strange metal device that a with single red button in the centre.

Sonic watched it approach and stand before him, staring directly into the hedgehog's eye with his own. Then he reached up with a cloven hand and pressed the button.

A sudden flat green circle passed through the chamber from the ceiling to the floor and Sonic felt as if someone had reached into his mind and yanked something out, leaving him swaying there a little disoriented. The creature remained silent for a second, before opening it's mouth and asking in perfect English; "Can you understand me?"

"You…you speak English?" Sonic asked, suddenly finding for the first time that despite the water flowing in and out of his mouth, not only could he breath but he could also speak in this environment.

"I do now." The alien replied. "Interesting language, and according to our information it diverts according to region. Fortunately it's nothing our mind trace cannot accommodate."

"Just who are you?" The hedgehog asked.

"You misunderstand your situation here." The creature replied callously. "During interrogation, I ask the questions. Now, what is you affiliation?" Sonic remained silent. "Who do you work for?" The alien asked again.

_"He is self employed."_ A voice replied, but this one was very familiar. Looking up, the blue hedgehog saw another enter the room, a figure just as familiar as the voice it belonged to. Metal Sonic, leader of the Metal X Machine Federation. The red disc like eyes staring out towards his organic contour part, lightly reflected of the metal armour around the face. A long purple cape was flowing out from the metallic shoulder pads._ "He is the self proclaimed barbarian cultures' champion."_

"Barbarian culture?" Sonic repeated. "You call us barbarians?" 

"What else could you be called?" The alien asked. "You are a vicious and savage civilisation, you pollute your world and fight amongst each other like primitives." It gestured back towards Metal Sonic. "The Machine Federation has already provided us with all the information we require about your world and your savage practices." Sonic watched Metal Sonic's face gleam in a sadistic delight. "If we decide you a threat, you will be forcibly removed."

"That's a lie!" The hedgehog protested. "It's the Machine Federation who are the savage one. Metal Sonic's lying to you!"

"Save your breath." The alien replied flatly. "We of the Black Arms Sect already know of your lying, deceitful ways. All those concerned with the detention of you and your compatriots have been instructed to ignore your pleas." Sonic's suddenly felt a tingle of fear pass down through his spine.

"What have you done with my friends."

"All of them are contained." The alien said, crossing his arms in a very human way. "Your ship is currently being held in our custody and the Chaos energy sources you stole have been returned to their proper owners, the Metal X Machine Federation." Sonic looked up in panic to see Metal Sonic produce the Red Chaos Emerald from behind his back, nimbly tossing it up into the air before catching it again with one hand. It was the Emerald they took from the Metal X general Equinox and if he had that, then he must have the other five they managed to gather. Now all Metal Sonic needed to win was one more.

"No!" Sonic declared, desperately trying to break the bounds that kept him in place. His strength wasn't enough. The technology used to construct all of this was simply far too advanced. "You don't know what your doing!"

"Now, let us start where we left off." The alien commander butted in. "Remember this is still interrogation and we have questions for you."

_"I advise you to be honest with them."_ Metal Sonic added in with a gleam to his black and red eyes. _"Commander Rikoye here will be supervising it personally and he will be most upset if you do not answer."_

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Sonic hissed.

"Now let's begin with questions about you military defences." The Alien commander began.

* * *

- 

(In Chris voice)

Disaster! Metal Sonic has six Chaos Emeralds, the Blue Typhoon is captured, and Earth is the brink of an Alien invasion! Just who are these 'Black Arms' and what do they want? What is their connection to Metal Sonic and will Espio and Fang put aside their differences to fight a common enemy? A big battle is about to go down, next time on Sonic X; The War begins! Don't miss it!


	47. Episode 24

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

Episode 24: The war begins

* * *

- 

The walls, the floor, the ceiling; the entire room was alive. Some bizarre welding of organic matter and technology. Veins that pulsated with the regular beating of some heart ran across nearly every surface, through the metal as well it seemed before disappearing altogether. Some of the cells seemed especially made to keep their occupants in place. For Knuckles, the walls were like elastic; restricted and expanding with the same force as any punch he could throw. The surfaces just took whatever he could throw and reformed instantly, like he was punching rubber.

The cell Okida and Tails had been placed in just pulled them both down to the floor, keeping them pinned there. The gravity inside that one room kept them from so much as opening a wing or spinning a tail. The rest just seemed like ordinary rooms, ordinary for this vessel anyway.

Sonic wasn't being kept in the same area as the rest of them. None of them had seen the blue hedgehog for a while now. They all knew he was still alive, Knuckles had seen the creatures take him alive; as well as take the Chaos Emeralds.

The creatures themselves, most probably guards stood outside. There where two of them, lizard like beings with grey scales that turned red on their hands and feet. The eyes were bright flaxen yellow and their hands were cloven, the fingers at least four inches long. Like humans, while having similar characteristics; each one was different from the other in some unique way. One was taller than the red and the eyes a lighter shade of gold. Another had paler red parts on the end of it's limbs and another had a hunch like an old man.

"Just what are these things?" Amy asked under her breath, watching one of them walk past her cell; a long broadsword in it's left hand, the blade sparking with purple lightning. Cosmo, who was sharing the cell with her, peered closer at the being as it strode past, walking on it's soles ; the two large toes acting as a balancer. A swift and muscular reptile like tail held to keep it upright as it walked.

"My people have encountered something like these before." The seer stated, pressing her face against the glass like substance that prevented them from entering the corridor just beyond it. "I remember hearing about it in the Achieve Lectures."

"Well, who or what are they?" The pink hedgehog asked, looking apprehensive. Cosmo sighed, levelling her eyes.

"I can't remember exactly." She replied as Amy rolled her eyes. "It was a very big Achieve, I can't recall it all." There was a loud thud as their jailor tapped a fist against the side of their cell, getting their attention.

"Thealk ka ka!" It told them. The two just stood there with dumbfounded looks on their faces. "Maliata." It began again, but their expression didn't alter. It groaned, shook it's long head before walking off, finally grasping that they had no idea what it was saying.

"What we need here is a Rosetta Stone." Sam Speed remarked, sitting on the floor of the cells next to theirs; watching the guard match past it before walking out of sight. Chuck sat inside it with him, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. These creatures had put two in every cell, no more, no less.

"Maybe we have." Chuck announced, suddenly the brightest realization dawning in his eyes. "I thought their language sounded familiar."

"Familiar?" Sam asked, looking back in surprise. "You mean you've heard it before?"

"That's generally what the word 'familiar' means. I remember hearing it back in Canada when we went to find that stash of hardware Eggman was salvaging." In the cell on the opposite side of the corridor, Tails looked up in surprise. Okida was taking the not being able to fly business the hardest. He was pacing their room with his arms behind his back, muttering to himself. The gravity effect inside was triggered only when they tried to fly, otherwise they where pretty much left to themselves. The major was a naturally flying creature, so not being able to lift his body off the ground was setting him on edge.

"You mean that ancient talking computer?" Eggman had, reluctantly, lead them through the trundra to the frozen cave where an abundance of ancient but incredible advanced technology lay buried. Inside it, they had found a computer that spoke a strange language not local to the planet. It scanned Chuck's mind and learned how to speak English, but not soon enough to give any much of it's secrets.

"I noticed these beings using some of the same words that computer did." Chuck replied. "It's possible that this race is the same one that left all that stuff in the first place."

"But this doesn't look anything like the hardware we saw in the cave." Tails replied, gesturing to the strange organic like construction of the walls around him.

"Well, there have bound to have been some technological upgrades in the past ten thousand years." Chuck ventured, spreading his arms.

Knuckles sat in his private cell alone, silently brooding; placing himself apart from the others so he had time to contemplate. Everything had been flipped around so suddenly. They had been one Chaos Emerald away from beating Metal Sonic and suddenly all this. He should never have come on this trip. He should be back on Angel Island where he and the Master Emerald belonged, but that wasn't what got him so uptight. Somewhere out there, was the Master Emerald; and he had to find it before that power hungry maniac used it.

Through his mind ran everything that had happened, how they had gone from winning against the Machine Federation; to prisoners in this bizarre place.

They had taken everything the Machine Federation had been stockpiling and all they needed to do now was pick up the remaining crew they lost when they arrived on Mars. So far, all they lacked was, Bean, Bark, Hare, Tikal and Shadow. To scan more of the planet's surface, Doctor Eggman took the Blue Typhoon up into a high orbit. There they floated, doing serious repair work to the ship after Dark Super Sonic's tore through it to get to their Chaos Emeralds. Luckily they had managed to turn Sonic back to his old self in time to prevent disaster.

The repairs to the ship had taken all day and by now, Tails was exhausted. He lay asleep in the pilot's seat of the bridge, his goggles over his eyes and snoring loudly. Even though Eggman had helped put this vessel together, this was considered his ship and it was his responsibility to make sure it was up to factory standard.

"Tails…" Someone called to him, but by now he was to exhausted to answer. He lay there in the seat, still snoring. Cosmo looked up at him with a small smile on her face, before she cupped her hands over and mouth and shouted; "Tails!" The young fox woke up with a start, sat up, hit his head on the underside of one of the control panels and fell back to the chair. Cosmo made her way up those the pilot's seat and crossed her arms as she leant on the side and watched him as he slowly sat back up, pushing his goggles off his eyes.

"Starboard engine, need, immediate repairing." He began groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"You love this ship don't you?" The seer from Maginaryworld asked with a giggle. Tails shook himself fully awake.

"It's my pride and joy." He admitted, tapping the side of the main control panel with a hand lovingly. "I've built many planes in the past, but something like this has always been a dream for me."

"And what a dream." Sonic remarked, sitting in a seat on their left hand side, his hands behind his head and one leg perched on the other's knee. "You really know you're flying stuff."

"Need I remind all of you that first and foremost, this is MY ship." Eggman told them from the front of the bridge. His two robot, Becoe and Decoe were busy helping the Doctor repair the systems and restore control to the bridge after the ship suffered horrendous attacks by Metal X and then Dark Super Sonic.

It had taken hours to fully remove the effects of the Negative Chaos Energy from the blue hedgehog's body, but with all that power safely destroyed by the Master Emerald, there wasn't much of a need to worry about another emergence of the Dark hedgehog. "My nano-bots helped construct it. Without my assistance, none of you would have gotten it off the ground."

"Get back to work." Sonic told the Doctor with a grin. Eggman locked him with a sideways glare, before turning back; a sadistic smirk spreading over his face. What any of them didn't know of course was that his microscopic robots had done more than just put the ship together.

Things had settled into normalcy on the ship, or as normal as it got for the crew. Knuckles, after recovering from his injuries went back to guarding the Master Emerald and the six Chaos Emeralds they had been able to gather. Now all they needed was the dark blue one and they had a full set.

Rouge had taken the opportunity of a peaceful period to have a shower, which the Echidna had had the misfortune of walking in on. He had ended up with a slap and Rouge reused to speak to him for hours. He hadn't even seen anything, part from her hand coming towards his face at a million miles an hour. He rubbed the still sore spot on his cheek with a hand, a dull expression on his face.

Chuck was asleep, tired out from doing all the work on the ships' engine systems. Gently on the bed in the Thorndyke's room, snoring his head off. Chris and his uncle were off wandering the ship, as usual, looking for something to do. Eventually, Chris wandered into the kitchen area were Major Okida was busy boasting to everyone there about his cooking skills.

"Prove it." Amy remarked flatly. "It's lunch time anyway, so let's see those cooking skills in action." Okida gained a near sadistic smirk.

"Café Okida is now serving." He remarked, putting the knuckles of his fists on his waist. "So, what are the orders?" Topaz rubbed her hands together with relish and Okida ended up taking on an order for and extremely exotic dish he couldn't even pronounce, never mind cook. Truth be told, the best he could manage was a fry up. Still, pride preventing him from actually admitting it; he got to work anyway. "You just wait until…" He began walking towards the cooking area itself, then he froze in mid sentence, the skin under his brown fur going blue. One eye twitched nervously, before he exclaimed loudly and darted backwards out of the kitchen door to dive behind a table. Topaz and Chris watched him with confused expressions on their faces, until Topaz got up to see what had spooked him so much. Sitting near the microwave oven was a small spider, no bigger than a thumb tack. "Keep it away!" The Major told her cowardly, creeping backwards as she picked it up and brought it out to them all to see.

"You've got arachnophobia." She began, before breaking into a laugh.

"He doesn't like wide open spaces?" Chris asked.

"That's agoraphobia." Topaz explained, before turning back to Okida with the Spider in hand and walking towards him. "The leader of Freelance Division, the Major who brought down those Elite guys is afraid of Spiders."

"Just keep that **_thing_** away from me!" Okida told her again, backing off as she presenting the small insect to him.

"Oh but it's so cute." The major looked at the eight legged creature with short black hairs and a multitude of staring wet eyes and a short pair of pincers at the front of it's mouth. It was honestly the most revolting thing he had ever seen and had to back away and hide behind Amy, who was trying not to laugh her head off.

Things onboard had been so quiet, almost complacent and then suddenly it, happened. One second had been utterly peaceful, and then; as if some cosmic force had clicked it's fingers, everything was thrown into utter chaos.

It started on the bridge, as the light coming through the windows began to darken, before disappearing altogether as some giant shadow slowly spread over the entire ship.

"Hey is that an Eclipse?" Tails asked, glancing out the window; only to come face to face with an incredible sight. It was like a monumental wall of metal was moving towards them, glittering with thousands of green lines running through engraved runes over the surface. It was covering the entire line of sight, slowly covering everything that could be seen.

The entire ship shook violently as some invisible force grabbed their ship and held in an iron grip and no matter how much Tails tried to free the vessel; nothing worked.

"Eggman, help me out here!" The shouted over. There was no reply. "Eggman?" Looking up, the young fox saw that the doctor and his two robots had disappeared completely. They'd been there a second ago, now the bridge was completely devoid of their presence. "Where the heck did he go?"

Down in the Energy chamber core, Knuckles looked up in slight confusion as he felt the ship vibrate slightly. Cut off from the rest of the ship, he couldn't tell what exactly was going on. Maybe Tails was trying to bring their jump engines back online? There was a loud shifting sound and the door to the chamber opened up. Looking over, the Echidna saw Doctor Eggman and his robots enter through the metal security door.

"What's going on up there?" He asked. Eggman didn't reply. He simply grinned and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a remote control. Knuckles looked confused as the Doctor pressed a single button on the top.

All the nano-bots he had installed through the ship activated, seizing control of the security systems on board. The laser stun grid installed inside the energy core chamber turned on, several turrets projecting from the walls and before the Echidna could do anything; firing a stun blast at him. The Echidna had time to swear, before it hit him head on and sent him cascading to the floor; knocked unconscious.

"Get them, quickly!" Eggman gesturing to the Chaos Emeralds behind the sleeping Echidna. Becoe and Decoe nodded and ran up the steps towards them, tugging at the Master Emerald first; pulling it out of the pedestal it had been placed upon.

"Hold it right there!" Someone yelled from behind him. Eggman shot round to face Sam Speed and Rouge standing there. Sam had a gun in his hand, and Rouge was in a fighting stance. Eggman simply sneered at them, before pressing another button on the remote control. The nano bots got to work again, pushing a holographic camouflage over the interior of the ship, causing Eggman, his two robots and the Master Emerald they had in hand to disappear.

"He did what?" Tails demanded as Sam sent the bridge a holo-message. But now, most of the crew had assembled there.

"Just like I said, Eggman stole the Master Emerald!"

What about the other Chaos Emeralds?" Amy asked.

"They're still here." Rouge replied butting in.

"And I would have had time to take them, had you not butted in." A voice added. Sonic looked up as the message was replaced by a transmission from the Doctor himself. He was sneering at them, the ends of his moustache curling in delight.

"I should have know you'd try something like this!" Sonic announced, shaking a fist at him.

"Oh you wound me dear hedgehog." Eggman said, feigning a hurt expression. "I hadn't planned on betraying you, at least not just yet. But since you and your quest are clearly dead in the water, I thought I would collect my severance pay and go now." he stepped aside to reveal the Master Emerald behind him, being pushed into a Metal harness by the Doctor's two robot henchmen. "See you in the funny pages." Eggman laughed, saluting them all with two fingers; a sadistic smirk on his face; before the transmission cut out.

A second later, a loud bang rang out as a vessel; hidden by the Doctor during the building of the ship; shot out the back and rocketed away from the Blue Typhoon, before disappearing on the horizon.

"That backstabbing…!" Tails exclaimed as he watched Eggman's escape ship fly away with the Master Emerald. "We should never have trusted him!"

"Let's not be too surprised here. We all knew he was going to do this at some point." Amy announced. "Right now, we've got other things to worry about."

The giant ship above them dwarfed their own vessel. It was at least fifty times the size of their own ship and as quickly flying over them. Once was good degree of it's front had passed by, a colossal hatch on it's under side opened and slowly, the ship was pulled inside. As it passed though the boundaries and into the interior of the titan sized ship, some force passed throughout the entire ship.

It shut down every system on the ship apart from life support and everyone was left, quite literally, in the dark. Not only that, but gravity seemed to increase everywhere. Suddenly bodies felt like they weighed fifty tones and those without super strength were pulled to the floor and left there, unable to move.

Sonic, who had raced into the energy chamber; left his legs go from under him and he collapsed to the floor. Sam and Rouge were there as well, trying to pull themselves up, but nothing was working. It was like someone had tied a thousand weights to their arms and legs.

There was a loud thud of a foot step and the blue hedgehog glanced backwards to see a large crowd standing there, but not of a species he was familiar with.

The creatures were unlike anything Sonic had ever seen before. They stood a good dealer taller than mobian and a human. They were lizard like, their skin covered in scales and a long muscular tail trailing out from the end of their backs. They had cloven hands, webbed skin running between their fat fingers. Their eyes was large, oval and completely flaxen yellow with a black ring running around the edge. When they blinked, their eyelids came in from the side rather than from above. Their skin was grey in colour, apart from around their snouts and the end of each limb where it slowly changed to a blood red. Their heads were long and the back arched a little as if to house a larger brain. Some of their number wielded bizarre looking weapons that resembled swords but didn't look like any weapon the blue hedgehog was familiar with. Their blades were crocked and buzzed with an odd purple lighting that danced from the tip down to the hilt. Even with all these similarities, each one differed in some way to the rest, as if no two of them were the same. Their numbers were extensive and quickly, with intense precision in each step they quickly surrounded them.

"Tal-rik kra, shal mal tik sha." One of them announced to the others, looking down at Sonic as it stood over him. Their language was not one the blue hedgehog was familiar with. With a sudden thrust, it reached down and snatched him into the air by his wrist. Lacking the strength to even struggle, Sonic just hung there like a rag doll. For a moment, this strange being studied him with it's wide eyes, as if learning all there was to know about his anatomy from a once over before dropping him roughly back to the ground.

Sonic land back down on the cold metal floor with a loud thud, wincing at the cold and the sharp pain. Desperately he tried to find the strength to get up, to fight, to do something. Anything.

"Kalik-ka." Another of the creatures replied, leaning down to examine Sonic itself. "Jalious, malik." It prodded the near helpless hedgehog with a fat finger, before roughly yanking one of the blue quills out of his head to study it more closely.

"No one touches the 'do!" Sonic told them, trying to push himself up. The creatures looked a little startled by the outburst, almost as if they hadn't realized he was capable of speech, even if they couldn't understand the language.

Stopping Sonic from rising further, a large metal red foot came slamming down right next to his nose. Looking up with whatever strength he had left, Sonic saw his metallic counterpart standing over him. Staring down at the blue hedgehog with glowing blood red eyes, his purple caper flying out behind him, Metal Sonic was perfectly silent. Their eyes met and past the emotionless façade of the robotic hedgehog's metal face, Sonic could see a bottled sea of tense anger, frustration and utter hatred.

Looking up, Metal Sonic turned towards the six Chaos Emeralds that sat nearby, in union around the empty space where the Master Emerald used to be. Trailing his arm up, Metal Sonic presented his flat palm towards them and a sudden jolt passed through the air. As if ripped out of the air by a magnet, each Emerald one after the other left their place to hover just in front of his hand; buzzing amongst some form of energy field as they came to the robotic hedgehog.

"No…" Sonic managed to mutter. Metal Sonic could not be allowed to get those Emeralds. Forcing his body, against the pain and against the fatigue, Sonic managed to push his way to his knees. It was like trying to run uphill dragging the entire world behind him, but keeping his gaze locked on the emeralds mere inches away from Metal Sonic's talons he kept going.

The collection of creatures around them looked confused and a bit startled, as if nothing they had used this weapon on before had ever shown this degree of defiance. Metal Sonic looked back casually over his shoulder, half of his head hidden behind his purple cape. Sonic reached forward, resolute in his intentions to stop him. The glow from the robotic hedgehog's eyes suddenly increased.

_"__One more to go."_ He stated, before holding out his free hand towards Sonic, the fiery embers of an energy attack gathering between his fingers. With no strength to defend himself, Sonic took the full force of a bright yellow blast of energy straight to the torso. Sent flying, the blue hedgehog crashed into the wall on the far side of the chamber, leaving a 'sonic shaped dent' in the metal before sliding to the floor; knocked unconscious.

* * *

- 

While things had not gone exactly according to plan, the end result was the same so Metal Sonic did not care. All that mattered now was the fact he had six Chaos Emeralds floating in a beam of light that lanced between the floor and ceiling before him; ready for use.

He would have killed Sonic then and there, but the Black Arms insisted he be kept alive, so that they could study him. His anatomy peeked their scientific curiosity and they deemed him worthy of observation and Metal Sonic was not able to endanger his alliance with them. Sonic would die, eventually, but he could wait just a little longer.

The robotic hedgehog took his attention away from his prizes for a moment to glance out the towering window to his left. From here, on his Flag ship the Behemoth; he could see a flee of ships assembling, ready for the assault on the Earth. Half of them belonged to Dark Oak, his only surviving General and the other half were Black Arm fighters and fraters.

Their technology exceeded his own presently and so, for the moment at least, he found it necessary to engage in deception. It was not a tactic he enjoyed using, as it made him more like Eggman than he was comfortable with, but for the time being he had little choice. These beings his mysterious benefactor had been able to secure the aid of were only interested in their own survival, so in order to have their cooperation; he had no choice.

Now, with the sheer military force he had, he was ready to finish what he started. To destroy the organic life on Earth and start anew, better race of living machines. The invasion would begin in a few hours and Metal Sonic was willing to bet G.U.N already had their own forces mobilised against them. But their technology level paled in comparison to theirs. It would be no contest.

_"My lord."_ Dark Oak began, his face appearing in a holographic message. _"The fleet is ready and I have had word from the Black Arms. The decent will begin in an hour." _

_"Good."_ Metal Sonic replied._ "Keep some ships back in reserve around Mars."_ He added, glancing over his shoulder.

Dark Oak began, his face appearing in a holographic message. Metal Sonic replied. "Keep some ships back in reserve around Mars." He added, glancing over his shoulder. 

_"Are you expecting trouble?"_ Dark Oak asked him.

_"No."_ The robotic hedgehog replied. _"But I have to be prepared for any possibility."_

_"As you wish sire."_ With that, the general's face vanished.

* * *

- 

Strangely, Sonic found it very easy to sleep, despite his situation. His strength had been sapped, so his eyelids kept growing heavier and heavier until finally he nodded off. He hung there, suspended in a strange organic like capsule, surrounded by a liquid he could breath and he slept. It was all he could do at the present moment.

At some point when his eyes were open, he saw another of those creatures that were holding him captive. It was alone and seemed slightly smaller than the others he'd seen. It was watching them through the glass with it's big yellow eyes, blinking horizontally before it reached over to some console panel out of sight and pressed a button. There was a loud whooshing sound and Sonic glanced up, seeing the liquid slowly being sucked out of the chamber through two holes in the ceiling. Once it had all gone, he found himself coughing and spluttering for all he was worth, forcing all of it out of his lungs as air surrounded him again.

It took a good five minutes for his body to cough it all up and it was not something he would like to repeat any time soon. Once he had finished, the alien pressed another button and the bounds around his arms and legs released their grip and he dropped like a rag doll to the floor.

Still weak, all he could do was sit there, spluttering a little as he pushed himself up to his knees; brushing the water logged quills out of his face. The creature outside pressed another button and slowly the glass in front of himself peeled back like a scab and something shoved the hedgehog out and into the room beyond.

Sonic rebounded off the floor and darted away from the creature, already in a fighting stance. He hadn't had much of an opportunity to see exactly how good these things were at fighting, so he was ready for anything. Slowly, the creature raised it's hands in a defence and non-hostile action; surprisingly to show the hedgehog that it intended him no harm.

"Shallaka-ka-ka-palka." It stated. Sonic just stood there with a confused and dumbfounded look on his face. The being reached up and pressed a button on the metal ring around it's thick neck. There was a loud humming and suddenly it's eyes glowed bright yellow. "Can you understand me now?" It asked, in English and with a female voice.

"Just what are you things?" The hedgehog asked, now fed up with the situation entirely.

"My name is Jalios." The creature replied. "And we are the Black Arms sect."

"Black arms?" The hedgehog repeated in confusion.

"There is no time to explain, quickly; come with me." She told him, gesturing towards the entrance to a corridor; a large metal door was closed in front of it, red vein like lines running through it from above.

"What should I trust you?" Sonic asked, lowering his arms and unclenching his fists.

"Because I can help you escape our vessel, reclaim your crew and your ship." She replied. Her voice was being synthesized by the ring around her neck and sounded emotionless.

"The others? Amy, Tails, Knuckles…are they alright?" Sonic asked, almost cutting her off.

"They are being kept in the detention cells for further study." Jalios replied. "They are alive and well and as for your ship, it's being stored in the docking area. I can help you retrieve both."

"And what's in for you?" The hedgehog asked suspiciously.

"I will explain on the way. Quickly we must go before they detect your pod has been opened." Time was of the essence and Sonic didn't have time to stand around. He shouldn't trust this being he knew, but if they wanted to keep him and his friends under control, they could just as well have kept him inside that containment pod.

"Alright, let's go."

The Black Arms, Jalios explained as they made their way through the ship, was the name of an organisation rather than their species. Their sect as a renegade, separatist faction of a larger empire that spanned a good deal of this spiral arm of the galaxy; or at least that was what Sonic managed to pick up. There was a lot of words that even when translated into English, did not make much sense but he got the general gist of it. The Black Arms had been travelling through space for some time now and had come across this solar system when their passing fleet was alerted by a signal from the Machine Federation.

"I believe that this, Metal Sonic, is withholding truths from our leaders." She told him. "Twisting the facts to suite his own needs. Of course I cannot accuse him without direct proof. I would be accused of jeopardising the alliance Commander Rikoye finds so important."

"Alliance?" Sonic felt it strange that a civilisation obviously so advanced would ally themselves with the Metal X Machine Federation, an army that only wanted to conquer Earth. What could Metal Sonic possibly offer them? "What for?"

"The confederacy army, the ones our sect broke away from are hunting us. They do not tolerate diversity in their culture." She explained, pressing her cloven hand up against the flat panel at the side of a door. "They have pursued us a great distance and we now look for a place in which to hide. Metal Sonic offered us both planets in which to conceal our presence."

"Hey, we were here first!" the hedgehog told her with an annoyed expression on his face. She turned to give him a flat, sideways glare.

"When you're being hunted like animals by a people who think you scum, that sort of thing doesn't worry you." There was a short beeping noise, and the door they were in front of slid upwards out of the way. Just beyond was a long corridor with several cells on either side. Several Black Arms were standing guard and exclaimed loudly when they saw the blue hedgehog they exclamations suddenly died out when Sonic speed forward and silenced them with a solid punch and kick.

"Sonic!" Tails cried out, watching the blue hedgehog through the translucent window of his cell.

"You ok little buddy?" Sonic asked nearly pressing himself against the glass.

"We're fine, just get us out of here!" Okida told him, nearly flying against the glass. He paused, seeing the hedgehog's companion. "Sonic, look out there one behind you!"

"No sweat, she's on our side."

"Our side…**_she_**?" Amy asked from the cell opposite.

"Explain later. Right now, we've got to get out of here."

* * *

- 

Flip card 1:

Name Jalios

Age: 'meaningless concept to her species'

Description: A Black Arms Dissident


	48. Episode 24, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: The G.U.N Fleet

Description: The space ship fleet belonging to the Government, created from Black Arm technology left behind on Earth in ancient times.

* * *

- 

Getting away had been no simple matter. After using his own computer system to override Fang's disabling device on the ship, it had taken every trick Emerl had programmed into his electronic brain to prevent the Black Arm ship from locking on theirs with a tractor beam and pulling them in. Still, that didn't prevent the larger vessel from sending out smaller fighters to go after them.

These weren't smaller ships, as one might think. These fighters were living creatures. They were long and reptilian like, with wings on either side; the swing stretched between three long bony fingers. Along their undersides, running along the long neck, chin and down the tail were frills that acted as balancers in flight. Their legs were long and bi-pedal, with short flat feet at each end. Their scales were like that of the Black Arm's themselves; grey apart from at the end of the limbs which turned blood red. At the tip of their tails, horns lanced out in a box shape, with stretched of skin in-between.

The Black Arms had long since outgrown the need to rely on metal fighters, units that could easily be destroyed in battle. Instead, they had theirs home grown. These 'dragons' were the perfect ship to ship fighters, swift, agile, controllable and capable of surviving in a vacuum. A genetically created weapon.

A dozen of them soured through space towards the fleeing ship carrying the Chaotix detective agency and easily caught up with it. Several soured past it and took point, flying out front of the ship to keep it from souring away. Four others came at the vessel from behind, flying over the top before dropping down, latching onto the ship with the talons on the end of their feet.

"What the heck are these things?" Beck asked, staring at the creatures out the window as they took hold of the ship, an entire fleet of them slowly encircling the vessel.

"We can ask them later." Vector remarked, throwing himself up to the front of the ship towards Emerl at the controls. "Get us out of here." The robot nodded and tried to throw the ship's engines into overdrive. There was a bright flash from the thrusters at the back and several Dragons were caught in the blast, reducing all three to smouldering ash before the vessel soured away, striking the two up front in the back sending them spiralling up into the air as astro-road-kill. Those up top folded their wings and clamped on even harder, biting and clawing at the metal, trying to carve their way inside.

"Oh this is not good." Rei remarked as the ship shout away from their pursuing vessel, only to emerge into the breech of a fleet of the things; a giant collection of ships heading directly for the Earth. Most of them belonged to the Black Arms, but a good deal were those of the Machine Federation Space force, commanded by Dark Oak himself. As soon as they caught sight of the G.U.N vessel shooting past them, turrets rose out of their hiding places and they opened fire.

Down in the hold, Fang grabbed his gun and hung on for dear life as the ship vibrated angrily, a barrage of laser fire striking it across the bow and those Dragons tearing in from above didn't help either. He was beginning to think that perhaps he should have let Chaotix fly into this hornets nest and be content at that, but no, he had to go after Espio himself.

There was a loud ripping sound and suddenly, the front teeth of one of the Black Arm Dragon tore through the roof, tearing a hole through the metal to the airless vacuum outside. Everything not hammered down and sucked up and swallowed, spat back out into oblivion beyond. Had Charmee not been hanging on for dear life to the side of the doorframe entering the cargo hold he would have been the first to go. All of Fang's weapons soured away from him, before the Weasel himself was lifted up off the ground, thrashing for something to hold onto it.

At the last second, Espio lashed out and grabbed the Weasel by the wrist and would not let go, anchoring both of them to the jagged corner of pipe, his arm tugged around it. Fang's hat nearly got pulled off and had he not grabbed it and clamped it under one arm, he would have lost it.

Gripping his hat between his teeth, the Weasel turned around and fired several shots with his gun straight at the giant muzzle that was clawing its way through the roof. Thankfully, the skin of the dragon as not that tough and it sank away, shrieking as its yellow bile like blood flayed out into the air. Unfortunately that left an even bigger hole that began ripping entire metal crates up from the floor and tossing them out into space. It became an extreme chore for Espio to hang onto Fang's arm.

"Hang on!" Charmee called over from the door, picking up Espio's ninja ball and chain he'd dropped in the fight, whirling it over his like and tossing it out towards its owner. Espio unfortunately didn't have a spare hand to catch it and it nearly went up towards the hole in the ceiling, had Fang not quickly slid his gun back into its holster and grabbed it at the last second.

Now with both ends secure, Charmee swung his end around a pipe and began pulling, reeling them both it. Now its Espio's turn to hold on as Fang began pulling them both away from certain death and over towards salvation. Just as they were nearing the door, the Dragon returned. Its large snout shoved itself down in and snapped at them like a rapid dog, Espio's legs coming only a meter away from a row of jagged teeth.

Once final tug; and Charmee had them both inside the corridor. Once they were both clear of the door frame, Espio smashed its fist down on the emergency lock down button concealed behind glass on the left hand side. Instantly a large metal door came slamming down, forming an air tight seal. The swirling vortex that had tried to swallow them disappeared and they dropped down to the floor with a loud thud.

"That was too close." The bee remarked, wiping some sweat away from his forehead. Espio sighed out load. That had been close. There wasn't a single situation he'd been in thus far that measured to how close all of them had come to the big one that time.

"You could have let me die." Fang stated, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Espio fixed him with a glare. Fang was right, he could have, very easily. This mercenary had killed Mighty, then tried to ice all of the agency and even himself. In fact, he'd been the act of another attempt of the chameleon's life when the chaos began. All had had to do to get rid of him once and for all was let go. But Espio was better than that.

"So could you." He replied and Fang hesitated, remembering his own instinctive reaction. He could have tossed Espio back into the jaws of the Dragon when he pulled them both to safety but it that idea simply hadn't occurred to him at the time.

"So what?" He asked, pulling his fat down slightly so his' eyes were hidden. "You saved my life; I saved yours, debt even." Suddenly, the door behind them vibrated as the Dragon in the depressurised room beyond began head butting it.

Glancing back at it, then at each other, the trio dropped the conversation and ran, trying to make it to the door on the far side, before; and with a loud tearing sound, the door and ripped off its hinges and the Dragon began clawing its way through the corridor after them.

"Emerl, look out!" Rei declared and the robot shot a glance to the side just in time to notice several other Dragon's some souring at them on a collision course. Pulling back on the controls, he threw the ship into a sharp ascend, throwing everyone into the backs of their seats.

"This is what it was like last time mom!" Cream declared; actually enjoy this, Cheese sharing her glee, while he mother on the other hand looked petrified, her fingers digging into the arm rests.

_"See, what did I tell you?"_ Metal Sonic asked, gesturing to the reports flashing up on screen. To his side stood the Black Arm Commander, Rikoye, scratching his chin in thought was more intelligence on the unknown craft evading their fighters the best it could came through. For a small ship, it was doing quite well._ "A scout, come to test our attack strength."_

"Possibility." The commander began slowly, blinking horizontally several times. "It dose strength your claim that this civilisation is hostile, but still I must give them a chance to stand down before I resort to obliterating them." He paused. "I thought they didn't have the technology for space travel yet?"

_"They may have made some advances while I was setting up my command post on Mars."_ Metal Sonic replied flatly._ "But this should be their limit. They have nothing to prevent your landing, so they will have to resort to ground command against any landing parties."_

"And what of their Nuclear Arsenal?" Even for a superior race, being hit with an atomic weapon was not something one would wish upon oneself._"_

_They will not use it at first. They fear their own power, but should they get desperate enough, they may feel they have no choice."_ The robotic hedgehog replied, folding his arms, the sides of his cap flowing down either side. _"It may be wise to strike at their Missile launching capable bases first."_

"Let us get on the ground first." Rikoye retorted as he turned and walked over to a window, watching the Earth get closer with his tail trailing out behind him.

"You have to be kidding…" Vector remarked, letting his shoulders dropping to his sides as a giant ship belonging to Metal X cut across their escape path. And not just any ship but the Behemoth itself. The galleon like spaceship was coming directly at them, determined to keep them from escape. Turrets rose out of the deck, rotated around so the barrel aimed directly at them before a thick torrent of laser fire came streaming right at them.

Emerl shoved the controls sharply to the right, so instead of hitting the ship itself, the Behemoth's attack simply shot five of the Dragon's trying to bite their way through the hull of the ship. Their bodies exploded in a spray of green lasers and yellow blood.

"Take us back to Earth, now!" Beck began, seeing several more Dragons come souring towards them to take the places of the ones just destroyed. Emerl was only happy to oblige. Locking the planet's position in clearly sight, then threw the engines into overdrive, burning whatever fuel reserves they had onboard. Caught in the back blast whatever Dragon's approaching the ship were sent flying, dissipating into black dust. Even the Behemoth had trouble trying to lock onto the ship as it thundered past, trying to reach the Earth before something else stopped them.

"They know we are coming then?" Rikoye asked, watching the ship fly out bound the firing range of the fleet, heading towards the planet.

_"I think they knew we were on our way before they sent the scout."_ Metal Sonic replied. _"That was simply sent here to confirm."_ He tilted his head forward slightly. _"Not that it really matters. That was best they could manage in the way of advanced warfare."_

Metal Sonic replied. He tilted his head forward slightly. 

"Then the planetary occupation should be without difficulty." The commander added on.

"That thing won't give up!" Charmee exclaimed, darting behind a corner after Espio and Fang as the Dragon dragged itself deliberately at them, its wings folded tightly against its back to prevent itself snagging on objects as it pursued it's prey down the corridors; the confines spaces slightly to small for it's bulk. Fang fired several shots around the edge of the corridor trying to wound it further, but even with a cull magazine emptied into it, it kept coming. Bullets were like bee stings to it, and only as annoying. It kept coming, ignoring the yellow blood leaking out of its side. But now, several doors had clamped shut behind them to seal the corridor from the outside vacuum. But that left the creature trapped inside with them. Not that it looked like it intended to escape any time soon.

Espio drew both arms back, before tossing a multitude of shuriken straight at it. These only had en effect when they hit the area's Fang had already irritated with his shots. It screeched loudly as a throwing star sank into a bullet wound, pushing the bullet itself in further. The creature paused to try and rip both objects out of itself; and both Espio and Fang took the opportunity to make its life a misery further. Reloading his weapon and tearing another gun out of his boot, Fang emptied several magazines straight into it while Espio tossed every throwing star he had. The metal sank deep into the creature's skin and suddenly the floor was coated in yellow. It yelped loudly as bullets and shuriken sank into its hand, before collapsing with a thud that shook the floor.

"Hey, you did it!" Chamree called over, swinging in mid air as the two of them stopped to take a breather.

Without warning however, the Dragon's eye shot open and it heaved itself back to its feet.

"That's damn impossible!" Fang exclaimed loudly, cursing several times afterward as the beast paused shot enough to shake itself, dislodging all the invading metal objects in its body, bullets and throwing stars falling to the floor.

"We'd better run." Espio announced as the creature slowly turned back towards them, its lips parting in what could be a sneer, the teeth shining brightly in the light.

"I'm with you!" Fang replied, before turning and bolting away. Espio and Charmee following closely behind like two blurs of pink and yellow and black. The Dragon roared, before tugging at the walls dragging itself forward after them.

* * *

- 

Slowly, the fleet comprised of Machine Federation vessels and those of Black Arm began their decent towards the Earth. They were all arrange in an oval formation, preparing to expand their reach and come down on the planet at all sides. Metal Sonic watched from the bow of his ship the Behemoth, his arms folded in front of himself. This was it. The end of G.U.N and the birth of his empire. Soon, the last Chaos Emerald would be in his hands an the power to rule entire star systems would be his.

Standing behind him were the three robots he had, converted, from the Eggman Empire. The strongest of the three in terms of raw strength was Metal Knuckles, who stood there to attention with extra armour on it's arms.

The sniper class Egg-Robot stood to his left hand side, also having had several improvements to it's design which consisted o a pair of spider rifles welded onto each arm.

The rebuilt robot, E1000 Theta stood to attention on the far left. Sonic had destroyed the original robot, but rebuilding this unit had not been overly difficult. It's flamethrower design was, for something Eggman conceived, quite brilliant so Metal Sonic thought it worthy of revival. The Imperial symbol had been removed from their metal framed and replaced with the Machine Federation 'metal fist'.

Commander Rikoye, present leader of the Black Arms sect watched the approaching planet as well from the bridge of his own ship. Whenever possible, their people avoiding confrontation and even interaction with other civilisation. It was a waste of their time and resources, yet if their ally Metal Sonic was to be believed, if allowed to continue developing itself; the 'planet-bound' culture below would become a serious threat. And threats they could not tolerate at this point.

The Earth, as their dominate civilisation called it, was a fused world. Here, different realities that ran alongside one another had blended together. The surface landmasses were clearly showing signs of it. That made his world unique. Very unique. It was only the fact that it rested in an insignificant part of the cosmos that was keeping the intergalactic community from parking around it for intense study.

They were lucky to have found it first.

"Commander! We have incoming!" The captain of the ship called out and suddenly alarms began blaring. Rikoye looked up at the display screen as red dots, showing incoming hostiles began lighting up. Metal Sonic uncrossed his arms and looked down towards the Earth in disbelief at the sight that met him.

_"Impossible!"_ He exclaimed as the fleet came to a sudden halt again, forming a single defence line. Even his own ships stopped as the approaching second fleet left the planet's atmosphere.

Thousands of ships, their numbers matching his own were coming straight at them, all bearing the G.U.N '**_G_**'. The lion share were small fighters no bigger than a bus, but following behind were gigantic cruisers each half the size of the Behemoth, numbering ten in all. And behind them, was a ship rivalling the size of the Black Arm mother ship. Metal Sonic recognised it instantly as Giant Wing, the pride and joy of the G.U.N military. But it had been destroyed. The revived Biolizard had torn through the last version, which had been considerably smaller than this one. It was like a giant flying metal castle, with turrets and several runways lancing out around each side for addition craft to take off and land. Quickly these unexpected arrivals moved into a position that mirrored their own, forming a thick defensive line.

"I thought they weren't that technologically advanced yet!" Rikoye asked Metal Sonic over a holographic communication link.

_"They weren't when I last checked."_ The robotic hedgehog protested angrily.

From the bridge of the Giant Wing battle station, the President watched the reports come in on screen. By the looks of it, they had just managed to get their fleet into position. Any sooner and they'd have had to fight the enemy within the atmosphere, which with several populated area below them was out of the question.

Intelligence fixed half of the enemy fleet that was settling into an line mirroring theirs as ships belonging to the Machine Federation. The other half were foreign to them. They could be the Eggman Empire latest models, but if they were they why hadn't they seen any robots yet? Eggman always deployed his robotic minions before sending in his large ships.

"Formation is set sir." The captain of Giant Wing announced, another report coming up on screen showing the two fortified lines of defence quickly settling into form. "Do we open fire?"

"No." The President replied, putting a forefinger and thumb to his chin. "I want intelligence on those unknown ships before we start making any tactical manoeuvres. In the meantime, keep the fleet in this formation. We're the defenders. We let them make the first move."

"Aye sir."

_"__What are you waiting for?"_ Metal Sonic asked after the hostile silence enduring on the front, not a single ship on either side making a single move. _"Open fire!"_

"That is a defensive line." Rikoye replied over their com-link. "We are never the aggressors. Only if they attack first will we retaliate." With that, he cut off his end of the transmission and his face disappeared from the holographic projection.

Now the Lord of Metal X was in a tight spot. Neither side was going to start the ball rolling on their own and sooner of later the Black Arms were going to figure out that G.U.N wasn't as hostile as he made them out to be. He was running out of time. Either he got them fighting now, or his entire plan was jeopardised.

He raised his left arm and a small slot opened up, revealing a hidden communications device.

_"Dark Oak, can you hear me?"_ He asked.

_"Loud and clear sire."_ Came the reply.

_"We need to press ahead with the plan."_ Metal Sonic added. _"These are your instructions."_

_

* * *

-_

While Doctor Eggman had been away, the Eggmoon had kept working none stop on the project he left running. By the time he got back, it was nearly complete. His Nano-tech factory and Mech projection faculties had worked around the clock and finally their work was nearing an end. Only one thing was need to see competition and thankfully, Eggman had brought that with him.

With a sudden shove, Becoe and Decoe rolled the Master Emerald off the end of the ramp and into place. Several metallic straps rolled across the top and strapped it in place with a loud clank. Once inside this harness, large metal cables snaked down from the darkened ceiling and then spilt off into a multitude of wires that quickly engulfed the giant jewel.

Eggman watched the process as the Emerald's massive energy was siphoned off for use else ware from afar, a wide smile slowly spreading across his face. He pressed a button on the end of his arm rest and his chair rotated around to face a large command console that controlled his little project. He would have liked to have gained all the Chaos Emeralds as well, but for now he would just have to stay content with the Master Emerald. It would supply enough power at least.

"Ah, showdown at noon." The doctor remarked as a report flashed up on screen, showing a data feed from one of the Egg Moon's spy satellites. Rom here, Eggman could see the two fleets forming into a thick line facing on another, each ready for an attack by the other side. This was too perfect. They would waste their energies battling each other and then at the last second, he would step in an finish them both off, leaving this world in his hands along.

_"Why haven't they started fighting yet?"_ Becoe asked as his two hence-bots stood on either side of him.

"It's a staring competition." Eggman replied, running his fingers fluently over the keyboards in front of him; his fingers working like made as he typed away several commands at once. "The first one to blink will get the ball rolling." Another report flashed up on screen, showing the energy gauge for his little project. The energy from the Master Emerald was flowing directly into the systems, filling nearly all the wires and cables for miles with incredible power.

_"We're ready to launch Doctor."_ Decoe added, stating the obvious when power levels reached maximum capacity. The doctor rubbed his hands together with relish, a sadistic sneer over his face. With Sonic and his friends already taken care of, the rest of this plan was going to be a snap. First of all, he had to take out Metal Sonic to ensure that even with six Chaos Emeralds in their grasp, the Machine Federation would not be a threat. Then, once these Black Arms allies of theirs had been crushed; it would be time to exterminate G.U.N once and for all.

* * *

- 

Earth seemed a lot more hectic now than Shadow remembered. Then again, with two fleets about to clash in the skies about them; he supposed it would be. Police had been called out to try and stop the spread of mass panic and hysteria that gripped the cities. Once the G.U.N ships began moving out to counter position themselves against the invaders, that was sent as a signal for people to start looting.

New York was in chaos. Armed barricades of swat police stood between unruly sea's of people try to add to the anarchy. Windows had been smashed open, doors torn in and the streets lay scorched with the black remains of petrol bombs.

"They're just scared." Tikal remarked as she and Shadow watched down on this pitiful display from above on a rooftop. Most of the streets were full of traffic and the skies with police choppers. Several old Big Foot Mech's had been called out in an attempt to get the city back under control.

Shadow said nothing, his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about everything that had happened to him thus far, how he had ended up on this path. It wasn't so long ago when he had tried to destroy this planet, and looking down at the chaos that gripped it now, he began to wonder if possibly he'd been right to want to. He shook his head, shaking those dark thoughts from his mind. That kind of thinking was a little too dangerous.

Bark and those other two goofballs had questioned his desire to go after this supposed legacy Prof. Robotnik left behind. Truth of it is, they were right to. Shadow's motivations were not altogether selfless.

Questions of his origin had clouded his mind from the day Eggman released him from captivity on Prison Island. It was Rouge who first revealed him the likelihood that perhaps his memories had been sensitised into his mind by Gerald, in attempt to make him the perfect agent to carry out his plans of destruction. The possibility that Maria's friendship was nothing more than something Gerald 'installed' threatened to send the black hedgehog into a pit of despair. Yet somehow, deep down he knew he had know her. Somehow, someway, he had known her, it was an emotion that told him, a deep rooted feeling. A truth nothing could extinguish in his heart.

Even so, that still left him full of questions that he needed answering.

"I checked with the military intelligence office." Bark stated when he got back and the other two, Bean and Hare got back. "They weren't being too helpful when it came to information, but it turns out whatever files they had on the ARK or Project Shadow were transferred to Hexagon."

"Hexagon?" Shadow repeated with a raised eyebrow. Bark nodded.

"They won the global defence contract. Most top secret files were given to them." Hexagon was a financial organisation that supplied the lion shares of military research and funds to the G.U.N army. Shadow remembered hearing about their shady dealings from Chuck. Apparently, they had no quarrels with murder to climb to the top of the corporate ladder.

The Robotnik family legacy, if it did exist, lay with them now.

"You do have a plan right?" Bean asked, folding his arms. Shadow narrowed his eyes, a thick evil smirk spreading over his face.

"Who needs a plan?" He asked flatly. "All I needed to do is knock on their door."

* * *

- 

Dark Oak had his orders. The battle would never start on it's own. Both sides were just far too pacifist when it came to starting fights. Metal Sonic wanted a war, so that was what he would get. Besides, it helped his true master's plans far better this way. The last surviving general of Metal X was in a very good mood. The time was nearly here. The time when he wouldn't have to keep up this façade anymore. The time of their glory.

His ship sat hidden, cloaked behind a stray asteroid from the belt around the planet, the Metal X general was waiting for the right moment. Neither side could suspect that he was one who would get the ball rolling. They had to instantly thick the other side was responsible, or no retaliation would take place. Two missiles had already been loaded and were ready for launch, all they required now was the order from their commander.

Dark Oak watched the display before him carefully. The moment was approaching…no…not just yet….not just yet…. Nearly there…NOW!

"Open fire!" The general ordered and instantly two missiles were launched from his hidden ship, but with the Asteroid at such an angle preventing the launch signature from being detected, neither fleet locate his presence. The two missiles shot out, one striking hard against the Black Arm mother ship and the other heading straight for the Giant Wing, but it was shot down before it reached it's mark. From the Behemoth, Metal Sonic watched with relish at the explosions.

_"Very good Dark Oak, very good."_ He muttered he watched the Black Arm ships move forward into attack position.

"They attacked us." Rikoye stated, folding his arms in front of himself as the reports flashed up to the deck. "They are aggressors. Open fire!"

"Retaliate!" The President ordered on the bridge of Giant Wing. "Open fire!"

Eggman snickered, his eyes alight with evil mischief as the two fleets lit up the sky with an intense barrage of laser fire, making the battle between them look like a light show. This would be the battle to determine the fate of the world. And he wasn't about to be left behind.

"Ok boys." The Doctor began to his two cohorts. "It's show time!"

* * *

(In Chris Voice) 

Espio working with Fang? Sonic working with a Black Arm? Things are spiralling out of control as the battle for the Earth kicks off and Shadow discovers the legacy of the Robotnik Family. And how will the arrival of Doctor Eggman and a second Egg Fleet put a spin on things? The history of the Black Arm Sect is revealed next time on Sonic X, A voice from the Past. Don't miss it!


	49. Episode 25

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO! 

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

Episode 25: A voice from the Past

* * *

The battle for the Earth was like no previous war ever fought, and not because of the new technologies being used and the new enemies being fought. It was the sheer scale of it all that baffled people on the planet's surface below. Millions of people all over the worlds watched their television screens as a thick battle began descending through the atmosphere towards the ground. The entire G.U.N fleet Vs the Machine Federation and their Black Arm Allies. The sky above North America was alive with laser fire as the two fleets exchanged blows. Everywhere, charred remains of ships began falling like rain, crashing down on towns thankfully already evacuated. As they fought, the ships were descending further down towards the Earth and very soon it became clear that the war was going to reach ground level before to long. Mass panic gripped the entire world as people began running from the cites as fast as they could hoping to find safety in the surrounding countryside, but with a battle this big, it wad doubtful there really was a safe place left on Earth. 

The Black Arm mother-ship broke through the cloud bank of a thick thunderhead, a colossal metal leviathan emerging for the entire world to see, quickly followed by the rest of the ships. Flashes of red darted through the clouds like lightning flashes, blood spilled by the intense fighting it seemed.

"This technology is incredible." Chuck began in awe at the corridors they walked through. "It must have taken centuries, thousands of years to develop stuff this advanced."

"It did." Jalios, the Alien that had helped free them for the Black Arm brig stated as they reached a closed doorway. A metal door, engraved with veins it seemed bared their way.

"Ok, time for answers." Okida stated, stabbing a finger at her. None of their companions had any reason to. So far, her kind hadn't been exactly helpful.

"We have no time." She argued, pressing her hand against a panel on the side of the door. "By now the fleet will have moved down into your planet's atmosphere."

"Make time." Knuckles remarked, raising a fist suggestively.

"We aren't moving another step until you tell us what this is all about." Amy added in, her hammer resting on her shoulder. The alien female sent pleading eyes to Sonic to reason with them, but the blue hedgehog just stood there with his arms crossed. He to was dying to hear this. The freed crew of the Blue Typhoon was hiding in one of the side corridors. Right now, the aliens manning the Mother ship were a little too preoccupied with the battle raging outside to bother with a few escaped prisoners.

"You are from planet Feson aren't you?" Cosmo remarked suddenly her eyes alight with revelation. Her statement earned her a few consumed glares. "I remember now. My kind has met this race before. They are called Fesonian, from the planet Feson; a dense ocean world about several galactic spiral arms away from yours." The Black Arm glared down at the small girl and recognised her species.

"You are from Maginaryworld?" The young seer nodded.

"Ok, you're from some place called Feson; that we get." The major added in, getting a little impatient. "Doesn't explain what you're doing here."

"You said something about being hunted?" Sonic began, remembering something Jalius had told him.

"Yes. We are the Black Arms, a separatist group from the Confederate army. We wander space trying to avoid them, looking for a place we can finally stop running." She explained; a hint of reluctance in the computerized voice from the ring around her neck.

"What happens if they catch you?" Chris asked. The alien lowered her head, her eyes blinking horizontally several times.

"They exterminate us. They believe diversity in their culture is wrong, so they pursue us on what you might consider a religious crusade in an effort to wipe us out. All of us, down to the smallest hatchling." Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook violently. The battle had reached the Mother-ship and by the way it seemed the entire vessel was shaking, it had to be one intense fight. "We don't have time for these questions. We have to get to your ship and leave."

"Just one more question." Knuckles began. "Now just why are your people helping the Metal X?"

"I've already told you. Metal Sonic promised us asylum once he conquered the Earth. We were desperate and Commander Rikoye thought we had no choice. We had barely managed to escape a Confederate army when we happened upon this system. A signal was sent from the planet you call Mars and Metal Sonic was waiting for us." She paused for a moment, her tail swishing out behind her. "He offered us the help of the Machine Federation to hide ourselves here. The Confederate army would pass by and never know we were here." The ship shook again, this time with far more strength, knocking several less balanced people in the group over.

"Man, they must be really going at it out there." Tails remarked. There was a shunting noise and the door rose up out of the way, revealing another chamber beyond. A huge room that seemed to do on for some distance, a high roof hidden in darkness above like a night sky blanketed the whole thing. This was some sort of holding area it seemed, and being held there was the Blue Typhoon. This was where the Black Arms had stashed their ship once they seized it.

"It's still in working order." Jalios told them. "We didn't consider the equipment on board to be much of a threat so we left it where it was." Tails rubbed his hands together, a small smirk on his face.

"I know this won't come out right, but I'm, glad you think so little of us." He stopped, realizing something. "Wait, we don't have a power source for the ship anymore. Eggman stole the Master Emerald and Metal Sonic has the six we collected."

"Out technology runs on Chaos energy." The female Black Arm explained. "We have our own sources of it. I can provide you with one of these."

Outside the battle raged on and the fight had moved downwards towards the Earth's surface. By now, the ships were exchanging blows inside Earth's atmosphere, the blackness of space melting away replaced by a thick sky blue. Further down the ships fell, smashing against each other for all they were other, knocking dozens of vessels on either side out of the air to send them spiralling down towards the ground in flames. Dragons, the Black Arm genetically engineered fighters where filling the air in thick numbers, latching onto the G.U.N ships and slashing away at them for all they were worth. Several other flying reptiles, a lot bigger than the others; had two sets of wings instead of one and far longer necks, a large filling running up the top of it from the snouts. These were a special kind of fighter developed especially to deal with vessel of sufficient size. And they decided to go after Giant Wing itself in force.

Twisting like snakes in the air, they soured towards the G.U.N masterpieces, claws already outstretched ready to shred. Once they got to within a certain distance, the Giant wing defences already present on the flying fortress opened fire. Several of their number were caught in thick streams of bullets and cut to pieces instantly. Those that made it through managed to get to the runways that ran across the outer edge of the vessel. There, they had to deal with the Flying Dog Mech's that was ready for launch. G.U.N hadn't done a lot of developing when it came to the air force, so they were left with out outdated Flying Dog's to deal with the airborne enemy. That didn't mean however that they couldn't use other, ground based more advanced Walkers. A row of Turtle Mech's stood on a platform a little higher up, using their artillery to strike at the Metal X ships nearby. Yahger and Raptor Walkers had jets that allowed a degree of flight, but were those were useless in this kind of fight. Instead, they were confined to the ships they stood on, blasting away at anything that got close enough.

Breaking through the G.U.N lines went the Black Arm mother-ship, heading on a direct course towards Giant Wing, hoping to strike hard at the resistance here and crush it.

At the last second however, there was a large explosion from the underside of the alien titan and fragments of metal began raining outwards as a giant hole was opened in its underbelly. A second later, another ship emerged from the hole, flying out to take part in the fighting. Charging its way through a multitude of ships came the Blue Typhoon, all forward cannon's blazing ploughing the road, Metal X ships catching fire as the projectiles tore through their hulls.

_"__What? Them again?" _Metal Sonic demanded, spotting the ship souring back his own, charging forward with no signs of stopping. How the hell had they gotten their ship back? Anger quickly consumed the robotic hedgehog. This game had gone on for long enough. It was time to end this once and for all.

"Metal Sonic's noticed us! The Behemoth's closing in!" Okida stated, glancing back at the Metal X flagship closing the distance between them, its colossal shape ripping clouds open as it soured forwards, breaking free of the fighting of the fleets.

"That's it! I'm done running from that thing!" Sonic remarked, smashing a fist into an open palm.

"So am I." Tails added with a smirk on his face, throwing the controls down. The Blue Typhoon swung above in mid air and soured back on the collision course with the galleon like spaceship.

_"Ready all cannons."_ Metal Sonic commandeered to the bridge crew and instantly on the deck of the ship, turrets began rising upwards; their top halves rotating around so the barrels had a clear shot. The leader of Metal X sat down in his throne as a screen lowered from ceiling, a targeting display already on it. Just because he wasn't going to kill them with his bare hands, didn't mean he would be deprived of the pleasure of finishing them himself.

Back on the Typhoon, the troop door on the large triangular front opened up and the Turtle Mech onboard rose upwards unto the air, its artillery cannon already primed for use. Standing on the tip with one hand on his hip was Sonic himself, staring at the approaching Behemoth with a steadfast smile on his lips, the green eyes alight with excitement and anticipation.

"Ok Sonic, now or never." Major Okida remarked from the cockpit of the Mech, priming the firing sequence. Sonic's smirk widened and then he slammed dunked himself down into the barrel of the artillery cannon, curving himself into a ball, the perfect bullet shape.

_"__You're not getting away this time."_ Metal Sonic remarked to himself as every cannon on the Behemoth began to lock on. A pedestal rose out of the ground to stand before him, a large flat control pad waiting for orders on the top. The robotic hedgehog trailed his hand over it and began typing commands, readying the ship to open fire with all the ammunition it had onboard.

Sonic started spinning; his curved body generated intense amounts of static electricity in his quills. Blue and gold sparks began leaping out of the cannon and the power level began to build up. The entire Mech seemed like it was glowing bright yellow. Usually this was the point they would fire, but instead they let the energy continue to climb. The Behemoth wasn't like the General's of Metal X. A lot more was required to take this thing down. The entire Blue Typhoon began to shake as the glow around the Turtle Mech changed from yellow to royal blue, before gathering at the tip of the artillery cannon, culminating for the blast.

With a deafening roar, the cannons of the Behemoth opened fire, an intense barrage of missiles, lasers and other projectiles coming streaming forward. Any ship unlucky enough to get in its way was destroyed, be it G.U.N, Black Arm or even Machine Federation.

Finally the energy levels reached maximum capacity and the major didn't hesitated in slamming his head down on the big red button labelled; 'fire'. The shockwave resulting from the blast was immense, sending the entire ship rocketing backwards over half a mile. Sonic or something moving to fast for molecules to arrange themselves broke the light barrier, becoming a translucent shape that rippled through the air like intense head. Both attacks met head on and Sonic ploughed right through them, burning or neutralizing anything that got in his way, never slowing down for an instant as he carried on towards the Behemoth.

Metal Sonic's eyes blared blood red in intense anger, before he pressed a button on the side of his arm rest and his throne descended down through a trap door in the floor towards the escape pods on the level below. An audible crunch rang through the atmosphere as the hedgehog smashed head first into the Behemoth's front; cutting through the immense ship like a hot knife through butter. He slammed through wall after wall, level after level, robot after robot before finally crashing head first into the engines. The reactor inside went critical and an intense explosion blew the entire left hand side of the ship off, sending the smouldering remains clad in flames falling down towards the ground. What was left hung in the air for a moment, slowly being consumed by fire before finally it to begun to sink, like some ship lost at sea.

Shooting past the destruction, Sonic finally slowed down half way across the battlefield. Coming out of a super spin, he found himself falling over the deck of the G.U.N flying fortress Giant Wing, a vessel that dwarfed Metal Sonic's ship. Slamming his foot down and using the friction to slow his velocity, the blue hedgehog finally came to a stop. Leaving a carved line in the surface where he'd dragged his foot.

"Man, am I glad that's over." Knuckles remarked flatly. With Metal Sonic gone, the threat from the Metal X Machine Federation was over. Now all they had left to deal with was Dark Oak.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Tails replied, gaining everyone's attention. As the wreckage of the Behemoth began to fall, another vessel rose up from the ashes. It wasn't as big, but was large enough to be a considerable threat to them. This new ship was shaped like a bird, a falcon, with outstretched wings and claws as landing gear. The metallic skin was blood red on the wings and the rest was a shinning silver, gold tipped on the front and back. Standing on the left hand side wing was Metal Sonic himself, completely unharmed by the death of his Flagship. His eyes were glaring bright red at them, like two angry dying stars. Encircling his body as if they were in orbit were the six Chaos Emeralds he had taken from them. Standing behind him were the robots he'd taken form Eggman as well, Metal Knuckles, EggRobo and E1004: Theta.

There was a sudden blip and Metal Sonic turned his head, staring off towards the South. There it was again! A single blip of Chaos energy, showing the location of the final Chaos Emerald. Ultimate power was almost within his grasp.

Suddenly, his new ship swung around and soured away from the, disappearing though a cloud bank and vanishing from sight.

"Hey, where's he going?" Rouge asked, staring after him.

"Forget him, we've got more problems." Chuck announced; looking down at the radar screen the Doctor had once manned. "We've got major incoming!" Everyone onboard glanced out at the sky as the fleet's fighting each other. Giant Wing was descending through the clouds above to challenge the Black Arm Mother ship, but that wasn't what drew their attention. Advancing onto the battlefield, like an intense wall of ships was another fleet. A very familiar fleet, all the ships shaped in some way like fish.

"The Egg Fleet!" Sonic exclaimed in utter surprise as the ships began advancing forwards towards the battlefield, the reborn Whale Shark Flagship following behind them. This fleet had been Doctor Eggman's pride and joy back during the days when everything had been simpler, but G.U.N had shot that down hadn't they? That giant Flagship behind them had fallen into the bay of Station Square and G.U.N technicians had picked it apart. Yet here it was again, in all its glory, restored as if it had never been destroyed in the first place.

_"Attention G.U.N and the Black Arms."_ The voice of the Doctor himself boomed out across the air. A second later, a holographic projection of Eggman appeared in the sky, his leering face beaming with sadistic humour._ "I do hope you didn't forget about little 'ol' me. Oh for shame. Only one big shot is going to control this world, and that big shot is me. So get used to it!"_ His transmission disappeared and a second later, his ships began moving into attack formation.

* * *

-

"Oh Crap…" Vector remarked; letting his arms drop to his sides as the ground came hurtling up towards them. Emerl seemed unable to gain control of the craft's decent and if he couldn't regain that control, then they were about to plough head first into the top of a shopping mall. Trying with everything he had, Emerl pulled the craft out of its plunge at the last second and managed to keep it level enough to avoid crashing into anything else. The ship was in terrible shape and they needed to land, without burning to a crisp or being blown to smithereens in the process. They were coming down on the ruins of Station Square, left deserted after the frequent attacks and slowly being swallowed by a forest. Even if it wasn't unpopulated, landing here would cause the ship sufficient damage. The odds of them missing a building it they tried to touch down were monumentally low. Yet with a quickly diminishing fuel supply and two engines on fire, Emerl calculated that he didn't have much of a choice. He had to try.

"Wow, this is just like the fall in the Icarus." Cream told her mom, who was hanging onto Vector's arm at her side for fear life.

"This makes any roller coaster look like a piece of cake." Rei told Beck, who simply nodded once in agreement.

The Dragon crawling its way through the interior of the ship would not let up. It just kept coming, scraping it's claws against the floor as it snapped away at Fang's tail, trying to catch at least one of them. Beating it back with the tip of his katana blade, Espio managed to give Fang enough room to escape for turning invisible.

Loosing sight of it's pray, the Dragon stopped and tried to locate him again, while the chameleon leapt up into the air, spun there for a moment before coming down hard on it's neck, driving the tip of his sword down through the flesh. The neck however was simply too thick and the blow didn't do too much damage. The creature simply howled and swatted Espio off like he was a fly. Then it reared up, snapped the blade on the roof before fallowing after them again.

"Doesn't that damn thing ever die!" The weasel demanded, slamming the button that closed another door on the creature. The Dragon had carved its way through several already and they only slowed it down for a few minutes at least.

"Not without a great deal of difficulty it seems." Espio replied as the three of them, himself, Fang and Charmee kept making tracks as far away from the creature as they could. When the Black Arms created fighting monsters for their use they did not mess around. This thing seemed impervious to their attacks and resilient in its hunting. It was as if the soul mission in its life was to get them.

The ship was silently shipping towards the ground and it was now or never. Emerl had to land it now, or they were going to crash for sure. If that happened, he would fail his mission to protect Cream.

With a loud thud, the ship dropped down to the ground, rubbing it's underbelly on the street, sending the shattered wrecks of Cars flying into the air along with tones of rubble as the bow carved up the road in front of them.

The shuddered shock knocked everyone standing off their feet. Vanilla, who was hanging onto Vector refusing to let go was tugged out of her seat and onto the floor with him. Despite doing his best, Emerl could not prevent the lose of both engines on each side of the ship that got torn up by slamming into buildings.

"Whoppie!" Charmee declared, thrusting a fist into the air in excitement. This was better than a roller coaster ride for him. How many people could honestly say they'd been cascading down through the atmosphere in a burning ship hurtling towards the ground at a trillion miles an hour?

The Dragon however did not stop. With one suddenly shove, it smashed the door open and came charging after them, its jaws open wide the beast prepared to sink its teeth into their soft flesh.

"Espio, the pipe!" Fang declared, pointing to the thick pipe running across the ceiling of the corridor, part of it was hissing, showing a great deal of pressure had built up inside it.

Without a word, Espio retrieved his only remaining shuriken and Fang raised his gun, with one shot left. Both fired at the same time and at the same time they both hit the pipe. The fuel running through the pipe caught fire and that fire expanded in a single second of flames and consumed the Dragon passing underneath in a ball of intense heat.

The creature screamed in pain as it's body was quickly reduced to ash, but that scream was quickly silenced as it's throat was incinerated. The shockwave from the blast sent all three of them flying backwards to crash into the side of a wall with tremendous force.

* * *

- 

With Chaos gripping the world, not many people seemed to care when Shadow forced the door to the Hexagon main building off its hinges. After that whole Foundation thing, the black and red hedgehog had been left with disaffection for large scale multi-million dollar organisations. Most of the building was deserted it seemed. Apparently, with a hostile fleet knocking on their door, the staff saw little point in coming into work today. The only people around were looters trying to see what they could take while the police weren't looking and they didn't seem too bothered by the presence of a four mobians.

"There's a light on." Bean remarked, pointing upwards towards the top of the building, where the executive penthouse was placed. The entire building was dark as night, the only source of light being the single light coming from the penthouse windows.

"Well, someone's home at least." Hare added. Shadow simply scowled outstretched his hand towards them. There was a bright flash of green and instantly they found themselves relocated to the top of the building, standing on a balcony just outside a pair of double doors. Shadow simply kicked the door open to reveal the room inside.

It was well furbished, clearly meant for a big wheal in the organisation. The carpet was bright red and the walls were coated in varnished pine. Apparently the looters hadn't thought of coming up here to rummage for stuff they could use. The light was coming from a single lamp placed on an old, engraved oak table. A flight of curved stairs lead up to a second floor and to several doors leading into separate rooms, one of which was wide open.

"We've been expected." Tikal remarked, staring at the table. Placed upon it apart from the lamp was a row of sandwiches. Bark, Bean and Hare, who hadn't eaten for a while didn't hesitate, they set upon it like starving dogs. The black and red hedgehog rolled his eyes and turned away as bits of bread started flying. Tikal just giggled.

"I thought you might be hungry." A voice stated. Shadow shot around, a chaos spear burning between his fingers. Standing in the doorway to one of the upstairs rooms was a human. He was into his late forties it seemed, with a thick grey moustache running under his nose. He was dressed in a simple business suit with a red tie and polished shoes. The man was mostly bald apart from a few patches of hair at the back of his head. "My name is Jefferson Ridge." He began, walking down the stairs towards them as if he as hardly concerned about the energy attack Shadow still had ready to fire. "I am President and CEO of Hexagon military industries." Shadow's hostile glare softened and he stood up straight. A moment later he clenched a fist and the chaos spear disappeared.

"You knew we we're coming?" Bark asked. The human nodded with a short chuckle deep in his throat.

"Oh I knew. You aren't the head of such a powerful and influential group without having a degree of omniscience in the world you know." By now he'd ready the bottom of the stairs. He stood over Shadow and studied him for a moment. "You must be the end result of Project Shadow." Jefferson mused, putting a hand to his chin. "Shorter than I expected."

"You knew we were coming and then you probably knew why we're here." The dark hedgehog began flatly, his tone hostile. He had little reason to thrust anything this human said. The last owner of a corporation had tried to weld him with a dark god, and this organisation already had a reputation for shady dealings. The man nodded grimly.

"Yep." He replied simply, turning and walking over towards a television screen on the far side of the room. "When my company received the global defence contract, we 'inherited' a lot of files G.U.N considered to be above top-secret. Including several files they weren't able to open as it was password protected." He sat down in a seat to face the screen, a short keyboard in front of him. He pressed a button and the computer came out of the standby mode. "Through my various sources, I was able to decipher what that password was." Shadow watched as he typed in the letters…**M….A….R….I….A**.

A word more than familiar to the black and red hedgehog. "What I saw in these files both amazed and terrified me. Amazed, because it shows just how small our world really is; and horrifies, because it told me that if something is not done and soon; doomsday isn't too far away." Before any of them could ask what he meant by that, the password cleared and the information inside was access. A video file was opened, showing a metal room of some kind. As sharp pang of memory hit Shadow head on. That room was familiar. He had been there before.

"July first." A voice began from the recording. Shadow shrank back. That was the voice of Prof. Gerald Robotnik. An instant later, the image of Doctor Eggman's grandfather himself appeared on the screen. "Project Shadow is currently in stasis for the incubation period, which means that I now have time to turn my attentions to other regions of my research." Shadow realized what he was looking at. This was a video diary where the Professor had documented his research at the space colony ARK. "Today begins the trail and error tests of the warp anomaly that has been duped 'Chaos Control.' It is my sincerest hope we have quick success. My granddaughters birthday is next week and do not wish to miss it on account of my work." The screen buzzed in static for a moment and the location changed as it skipped ahead to the next entry.

"July; fifth… Having to make skipped entries, but my research is demanding my time." Gerald's voice began again, a thick layer of excitement coating his tone. "Even my wildest expectations could not have prepared me for the actually results the first tests have shown." The man looked almost feverish in his excitement. "Chaos Control has proven the alternate reality theory correct. The theory goes that there are dozens of parallel realties, or dimensions running alongside our own. The molecules of their universe use the space the molecules of our universe do not and vibrate at a different frequency, rendering them invisible to us. Chaos Control can attune itself to those frequencies, allowing a…doorway of sorts to be opened." The long dead professor chuckled for a moment. "It's like something out of a comic book. Too incredible for anyone in their right mind to take seriously, but it's all real. Here, on ARK, we have a way to travel to different realties." Shadow was now more confused than ever. Was this was the Professor wanted him to see? And if it was, what could possible be so important about it? They already knew now that other dimensions existed. The screen buzzed again and time sped on.

"July: seventieth, The Foundation officials are being to nose around again. They are going increasingly suspicious of my Chaos Control research and are demanding constant updates. I'm going to have to give them something soon to keep them quiet, but I CAN NOT tell them about the gateway. I just cannot. I would be handed an incredibly powerful weapon into the hands of people who would not hesitate to use it for their own ends. And if my suspicions are correct, those ends would not be for the betterment of mankind." Painful memories buzzed in the hedgehog's mind for a moment, until he chased them out with a big stick.

"August: tenth. The reality shown in the gateway is mirror of our own. The same basic physical laws, night day, trees, carbon based life forms. Not only that, but it also seems to have Animals with human characteristics. I forget the proper term. Probes sent through have studied them in detail and shown that they have an intelligence that rivals our own. Before too long, I will attempt to make contact." It was almost too hard to imagine. But clearly Prof. Gerald Robotnik had been the first on Earth to discover the existence of its twin, Mobius in a parallel reality.

"I forget what day it is today…I've been too excited. Not only have I made contact with these remarkable creatures, but one of them has actually travelled here to us through the gateway." The Professor paused for a moment. "Ah here he is now. Care to say a few words?" The old human sidestepped to allow a mobian to enter screen. Shadow's breath caught itself in his throat. Had he not know any better, he would have sworn he was looking at Sonic. It was a royal blue hedgehog with dark, emerald green eyes. The only difference between this one and the hedgehog he knew was this mobian had a moustache. It occurred to Shadow right then and there…that this was either Sonic's father or grandfather.

"I must say Gerald, this quiet a home you have." The hedgehog began, his voice nothing like Sonic's at all. "This world of yours has great appeal. I can imagine quite a few people from my world coming here." Suddenly, the screen buzzed while one of them was in mid sentence.

"The data is over fifty years old." Jefferson explained flatly. "It corrupted over time, and parts of it even my best technicians can't retrieve." Suddenly the image came back, but a good part of the message had already transpired.

"Everything is spiralling out of my control." Gerald stated; his thick moustache hung like a wet newspaper. "Maria's condition worsens and the lizard prototype has too unstable to use. It's mind is savage and primal and the mutation had made it dangerous. I am forced to use a D.N.A sample from my friend for a second try. He is from a universe more chaotic in nature then ours and that makes his genes more than capable of merging with Chaos Energy without messy genetics operations." Shadow was hit with another revelation. Gerald had used a genetic sample from Sonic's relative to create him. No wonder the two of them looked so alike. In some strange way…they were related. "My own discovering about the true nature of the Foundation won't do me any good either." Gerald continued. "The evil that controls them has a long influence and my own is far too limited." He paused to compose himself. "The accident occurred last night. My grandson, Ivo was caught in the backlash from the gateway as my friend was sent back to his home world. Ivo was carried with him, and I have no way to retrieve the child. My son will never speak to me again." Ivo….Shadow knew that name…wait…that was Doctor Eggman's real first name wasn't it? Ivo Robotnik? And did Gerald say that was his grandson? Then…this was how Eggman was first sent into Mobius. Shadow had to take a moment to calm his mind. This tape was just one revelation after another. He doubted he could take much more.

* * *

- 

Flip card 1

Name: Jefferson Ridge

Description: Head of the Hexagon Corporation


	50. Episode 25, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

* * *

Flip card 2: 

Name: The Egg Fleet

Description: Once Doctor Eggman's greatest creation, once destroyed and now reborn to fight for the Eggman Empire.

* * *

- 

"December 1st, this will be my final entry." Shadow looked up. Gerald was slouched in a chair, looking more glum than Shadow had ever seen anyone look. "My back up plan has been set in motion but I doubt it will amount to anything soon enough. It may take decades, centuries even…" He paused to bring the tip of a whisky bottle to his mouth. Clearly these were the days of the end, when the happy life on ARK had been shattered forever. "My research has shown that Earth, and the alternate dimension called Mobius will merge at some point. That is an unavoidable event and will be both wondrous and disastrous. Continued use of Chaos Control, I discovered will act as a catalysis, accelerating the process. Two planets joining into one…I was right…it is like something out of a comic book.

The evil that controls the Foundation must be stopped, or whatever glorious future either world may have will be gone. For that purpose…I created this…" He reached down and pull up a golden ring, similar to the ones shadow had around his wrists. But instead of a red fabric tab on the side, this one was blue. "If this footage is being seen by the end result of Project Shadow…as I hope it is….then you will need this." He held the ring closer to the camera. "This is my final legacy. This ring will be the key you need to defeating the Foundation and their dark puppet master. You have to unite with the three and this ring can help you do it." He lowered his hand and sighed. "I am asking a lot of you as this isn't what you were created for. I wanted you to be healer, a being to bring relief to a world pull of suffering, to help my granddaughter." The professor smiled grimly. "But I guess things never work out exactly the way you want them to. "My days on ARK are finished. The Foundation has seen through my ploys and already they are creating excuses for G.U.N to invade the space colony and there is nothing I can do to stop them. Remember the name of evil you face Shadow…remember the name Krish Kra Pal." Shadow blinked, remembering that name all too well. "So, this is all the help I can give you. This ring will allow you to merge with chaos energy completely, to not just become a being that controls power, but to be power itself. But even this gift may not be enough…Good luck…Shadow the Hedgehog." With that, the video diary finally cut out and the screen turned back to static.

Shadow was left stunned.

His mind was blank. It had been hit by more astonishing revelations then he was counting on and he had been left catatonic.

"Hey…are you ok?" He shivered slightly as someone put a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Tikal's concerned face and that brought him back to reality in some measure.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, still caught in his own thoughts a bit. Prof. Gerald knew that the Earth and Mobius would become one planet one day? What plan had he lain down though? What last line of defence had he created, before the ARK invasion, where his mind deteriorated and he forgot all about it? And where was that… Shadow looked aside towards Jefferson, who was offering him a golden ring with a blue strap on it.

"It came with the files." The human explained as the hedgehog gently picked it up. It was exactly like the rings he wore, but there was something else; something he could not explain. Something that made the fur stand up on the back of his neck.

"Krish Kra Pal?" Shadow repeated. "We already faced the Foundation. We already stopped Krish."

"Stopped…not destroyed." Jefferson began, earning him a fixed glare. "Oh I know all about that. I made it my business to know what happened to the Foundation. After those guys; and the Elite were exposed, I've been on the lookout for puppeteers working from behind the scenes. It's only good business sense." Shadow paused for a moment, before clamping the ring on his right wrist, just above the ring already there. "Look out there Shadow…what do you think is going on?" The human asked, gesturing to the war being waged in the sky outside. "The sky looks as though it's on fire, society is breaking down in the streets and I'm certain all of this has been orchestrated by Krish Kra Pal. I don't know what he is, I don't know where he comes from and I don't know what he hopes to gain; but what I do know is that this is the day referred to as the apocalypse, unless something is done."

"Like what?" Shadow demanded angrily, glare at him.

"Krish's body was destroyed by the god of the sword and the god of the shield more than eight thousand years ago." Tikal explained. "He's a wraith, a being locked in another plane of existence called Nexus, where objects rarely have physical substance. It's like fighting a ghost."

"Well inaction is not an option for you." Jefferson reminded them.

* * *

- 

"This is Scarlet Garcia, reporting live from News chopper one." The battle had intensified after Eggman threw himself into the fray, his new Egg Fleet blasting Black Arm, G.U.N or Machine Federation ships with intense barrages of missiles and laser fire. The sky was like a thunderstorm had different colour laser blasts shot across the clouds and the burning remains of ships began falling down towards the ground. The three Flagships of the different fleets, The Whale Shark Battleship, the Giant Wing and the Black Arm mother-ship had fallen back into defensive positions to better support the ships they commanded. The fighting was intense and showed absolutely no signs of subsiding. "What I'm seeing here looks like something out of Star Wars. The G.U.N fleet had engaged several enemies at once and at this point, I can't tell who is winning." Garcia spoke into her mike, watching the battle. The fighting was stretched out across the airspace of the entire country and was quickly descending further and further down towards the ground. Within the hour, they would be fighting across the rooftops of the major cities. The G.U.N fleet was trying it's best to drive them back up, but the sheer number of enemies just kept pushing forward.

"I'll tell you who's winning girl!" Eggman sneered, watching the broadcast on a side monitor. The Doctor sat on the metallic throne in the control room of the Whale Shark Flagship, the intense glow from the Master Emerald behind him sending dark shadows over his face highlighting the sadistic grin. "Now, how about this for the headlines tomorrow morning!" He pressed a button nearby.

On the deck of the Flagship a tremendously large pair of metal shutter doors pulled themselves aside as a large, humanoid shape object rose up into the air, the tip glaring brightly in the sunlight. It was one of the Doctor's best robots, a pipe dream he had been toying with. It was twice the height of the G.U.N Mech's and was shaped like a knight in armour. The hands were thick and heavy with intense amounts of weaponry, the face carved in his own image, with thick black panels of glass as spectacles and a large spray of metal as a moustache. It's head jerked to a side, as if becoming alert, before raising both arms and aiming them directly at the G.U.N fortress Giant Wing. There was a loud clanking and two doors on the front of the arms moved aside to reveal a pair of silver barrels; both of which began to glow intensely blue as energy began to accumulate.

"Get me on that Flag Ship." Knuckles demanded; gesturing with a fist to the Whale Shark below them. The Blue Typhoon was buzzing through the battle, shooting down every ship belonging to the Machine Federation or Eggman Empire that got in their way. They avoided Black Arm or G.U.N ships since their own something to the Black Arm who helped them escape. Jalios was onboard the ship with them, watching her people engage in an orchestrated battle that would leave many of her own kind dead before the end of the day. Tails nodded once and sent the ship into a dive, passing through thick streams of bullets, missiles and laser fire to dive directly towards Eggman's ship.

Knuckles quickly made his way outside the Typhoon to the wings, preparing to jump. He was fuming with anger and would tear that entire place apart to get his Emerald back. And if he stopped the doctor from shooting down the G.U.N fleet then he could consider that a bonus. Timing it just right, the Echidna dived off the edge of the ship and let himself get carried by the winds, to took him closer and closer towards the giant vessel below. Glancing to the side, he saw Rouge following him, her wings laid against the side of her body to make herself more streamlined against the howling wind. She smiled, gave him a thumbs up before carrying on.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" The President declared and nearly instantly, Giant Wing began tilting itself to the side and a second later, the robot standing on the bow of Eggman's flag ship opened fire with several intense beams of laser fire. That ripped through the air and struck the side of the flying fortes with tremendous force. The blast would have hit them square on and destroyed them had it not been for the President's order that came not a moment too soon. Several ships moved into a defensive formation in front of the Flying fortress to protect the flagship while several others prepared for an assault of their own.

Using his floating ability to break his fall, Knuckles landing on the front bow of the Whale shark flagship and in the shadow of the Mech that was preparing to do so much damage to the G.U.N. fleet. A second later, Rouge landed by his side her wings spread out wide.

"You ready?" She asked, Knuckles just nodded in reply before racing down with fists drawn back. Rouge grinned inanely, before following after him.

Away from the battle, Sonic the Hedgehog was racing along the ground, following the ship that had fled away from the fighting. It hadn't taken the hedgehog long to figure out exactly why Metal Sonic was running away from the fighting and to take up pursuit. Metal Sonic had six Chaos Emeralds with one more to go, his plan was clearly to pick up the final one while all this enemies were busy fighting each other. Well, not on Sonic's watch, he thought to himself; his legs going into an overdrive. His entire form became a sudden blur as he poured on more speed. Dodging through trees, landmarks, across bridges and down streets at a speed that boggled even his mind. The robotic hedgehog's new ship was a fast one and was capable of keeping its distance. Still, that did not seem enough for Metal Sonic. He would not risk Sonic's inference when he was so close to success.

Looking back over his shoulder, his cape fluttering out behind him; the leader of the Machine Federation gestured briefly to the two robots standing behind him, who saluted by crossing their right arm over their chests before taking their leave.

Sonic looked up as he saw two small objects break away from the back of the ship, hover in the air for a moment, before coming down after him. As they got closer, the hedgehog was able to tell they were robots. Clearly they were sent to slow him down or to stop him altogether. Right now he didn't have time to waste fighting them, so he sped on, trying to outdistance them both.

The robots however had other ideas and shot after him, pulling alongside Sonic. Glancing out to both sides, he could see exactly what robots they were. One of them was Metal Knuckles, a robot Eggman created to be one of his elite while the other; more surprisingly; was E1004: Theta.

"Didn't you go boom?" The hedgehog asked, before the android raised its arms and fired a shot of searing heat from the flamethrowers attached to its limbs. Sonic slowed down and managed to avoid the attack, before speeding up again as Metal Knuckles came sharply at his side trying to cut him down. "Love to tangle with you guys, but I'm late for a dentist appointment." The Hedgehog remarked, before speeding on; leaving the two robots behind.

Metal Sonic stood on the bow of his second flagship with his arms crossed, the six emeralds he had encircling his entire body like moons in orbit. His sensors had picked up the location of the final emeralds and now he was on his way to retrieve it. Once he had it, all he had to do then was activate the ancient machines and nothing would be able to stop him. He and his forces would be invincible. The robotic hedgehog was so close to winning now he could sense it.

Metal Knuckles and Theta would not take no for an answer. They kept coming, jets packs on their backs working full force to keep up with the blue hedgehog was he carried on, shooting like a cannonball between two large rocks to enter a valley, the Metal X ship falcon shaped ship just above the high ridges. Sonic glanced back towards the two robots who still hadn't given up their chase. "Well, if you want's to rumble that badly why didn't you just say so?" He yelled back into the air, before doing an about face and charging straight at them. Before either robot could do anything, he a laid a single hand on their shoulders. "Chaos Control!"

Metal Sonic glanced back a single point of green light erupted into the air as three figures seemed to emerge out of nothingness. Two of them were his own robots and the third…the robotic hedgehog's eyes blared blood red.

_"Destroy him!"_ Metal Sonic ordered, and Metal Knuckles and Theta seemed more than happy to oblige.

"Can't we settle this like mature people?" Sonic asked, raising his hands in question, before using his wrist to parry of a swing from Metal Knuckles. "Guess not." He replied with a short grin, before kicking the robotic echidna aside. Cupping his hands, the blue hedgehog paused for a moment, before firing a Sonic Wind attack straight forward. Metal Knuckles sank his into the metal skin of the flying ship, anchoring himself down against the vortex of energy that smashed into him, peeling away a layer of paint on his head.

Theta raised both flamethrowers towards Sonic again.

_"Now you'll get the true meaning of the words 'open fire'."_ He remarked, before letting Sonic have it with both barrels.

"Man, I am really sick of those jokes!" The hedgehog replied, somersaulting backwards over the blast, spiralling in mid air before coming down hard towards the android with a sharp kick.

Theta took the blow of the back and staggered forward, loosing his balance for a second. Sonic tried to take advance of the moment, but Metal Knuckles came charring in with a kick of his own, sending Sonic spiralling backwards over the deck towards the edge. If the hedgehog hand grabbed the tip of the wing in time he would have fallen off.

Theta marched up and trod on Sonic's fingers, forcing the hedgehog to let go with one hand. He was left their swaying like a rag doll in the wind, trying to pull himself back up. With clear glee in his optics, Theta brought his foot down again, squashing the other hand and in that instant, Sonic disappeared.

"_Enemy destroyed my lord."_ Theta announced, turning to salute Metal Sonic.

_"Oh really?" _The robotic hedgehog asked._ "Then what's that there?"_ Theta turned around to see what he was taking about, but not in time to block a kick as Sonic came hurtling out of a Chaos Control teleport. His own weight used against him. Theta was knocked over the edge of the wing himself with nothing to break his fall crashed down into the ground. _"I don't think I'll bother rebuilding him this time."_ Metal Sonic remarked, watching the androids burst into flames as he hit the ground. Sonic simply dusted his hands off with a wide smirk on his face, before descending into a fighting stance towards Metal Knuckles.

The robotic echidna didn't hesitate and charged, claws held ready to swipe. Sonic blocked the attack and then brought his leg up sharply to try for a kick. Metal knuckles dodged around it, before catching Sonic on the side of his face with the twos of his claws. The hedgehog yelped and darted backwards, blood running from two short cuts on the left cheek.

The two opponents exchanged blows so fast it would have been impossible for the naked eye to see, the air between the two of them a dizzy blur of kicks and punches. To the untrained observer the only indications of conflict were the momentary flashes of red colliding with blue.

Sonic grabbed Metal Knuckles by the thick bracer on its left arm; swung the robot over his head before smashing him into the ground. At that point, he let go, somersaulted into the air before firing another Sonic Wind attack down at him. Metal Knuckles spun back up to its feet and crossed it's bracers in front of itself in an 'X' shape. A shield formed around the robot and the moment the attack collided with that shield, the rippling vortex of energy was sent right back to its castor.

Sonic was knocked back down to the deck of the ship by his own attack and sent spiralling across it until he nearly fell off the edge again.

"Ok, let's try that again." The hedgehog remarked, picking himself and shaking himself to dislodge fragments of metal from his quills. Racing down, Sonic drew a fist back and smashed it straight forward through Metal Knuckles' defences before finally the attack hit home against the side of the robots head. Metal Knuckles staggered backwards several paces, before retaliating by slashing away at the hedgehog with its claws. Sonic ducked under both swings, before bringing a fist up sharply on its arm. There was a loud cracking noise and its left arm was severed from its body, landing with a loud thump on the deck of the falcon shaped ship.

Without the balancing act the weight of both arms supplied, Metal Knuckles was left uncoordinated, dragging its arm around like an intense burden. Sonic backed off to a distance, before spinning on one spot, curving his body into a ball. Once enough momentum had been built up, Sonic rocketed forward, smashing spin attack directly into the robots body.

Metal Sonic sighed as he watched another of his robots go hurtling over the side and into the abyss._"It'simpossible to find good help."_ He muttered, unfolding his arms and turning to face Sonic, who was standing there facing him with that annoying grin on his face._ "You can't defeat me, you do know that?"_ Sonic just shrugged in reply.

"I can try." He retorted; bring on arm forward and twitching his fingers in the Matrix style **_'bring it on'._** Metal Sonic simply laughed and let his arms trail out wide either side. The emerald encircling his body suddenly began glowing their respective colours and bolts leapt form each one to Metal Sonic himself. Sonic looked stunned. "You can use Chaos Emeralds?" He began; eyes wide in awe and horror.

_"Of course I can. You shouldn't have to ask."_ Metal Sonic replied, sounding slightly offended, before clenching his fists. Suddenly, his eyes blared blood red and light erupted from his entire body, an intense shockwave spreading out wards at tremendous speed, hitting Sonic and sending him flying up into the air like an old newspaper.

Knocked senseless, all Sonic could do now was fall, off the edge of the ship and down towards the ground. Hadn't it been for the splattering of rain that smacked him in the face as he spiralled towards the ground, he wouldn't had regained his wits in him to prevent becoming a pancake, diapering in a Chaos Control warp and using a set of bushes to break his fall.

Crawling out from underneath a badly chosen holly bush, the hedgehog watched the ship he had been on moments before rocket away, heading off towards the horizon. Grunting in annoyance and pain, Sonic dusted the barbs of his fur, before racing after it. Metal Sonic was doing everything he could to delay him. Clearly they were close to the position of the final emerald now. There was too much as stake to fail now.

* * *

- 

Shadow remained alone with his thoughts, unconcerned by the time they were readily running out of. No action would be taken by him until he got things sorted in his head. He glanced down briefly at the second ring he had around his wrist, the ring that Prof. Gerald's recording claimed would help him defeat the evil that needed confronting, or more specifically; the dark God Krish Kra Pal. How exactly the professor had known about that…**_thing's_**…existence did not bother him to much. What really set his nerves on fire was the fact that he was still around. He felt for sure they had seen the last of him when Sonic helped Shadow evict the demon creature from his mind.

If Gerald and Jefferson were right, and everything, the rise of Metal X, the war before them now and the chase for the Chaos Emeralds had all been orchestrated by Krish, then for what reason? When they last met, the demon god had wanted to use Shadow's body as a vessel. If that was not the intention this time around, what could he possibly want? And just what did this ring have to do with any of it?

He sighed, opening his eyes and glared out across the city. The fighting in the skies above was getting nearly on top of the buildings themselves. Any minute now it would be here, and people were still looting down there. Clearly they thought they wanted to die in the presence of things they wanted all their lives. There was a warped logic behind that.

"One with Chaos." He muttered himself, looking down at the ring again. The recording told him this ring would help him do that. To not only control Chaos energy but to be Chaos energy itself to use a power beyond Chaos Control. Shadow didn't know if that was even possible.

The way in which he and Sonic were distantly related actually made sense and did not shock him as much as he supposed it should. Shadow was created on Earth, yet was clearly based on mobian genetic patterns. There was only one way Gerald could have gotten that genetic material and that was if he's had away to go back and forth between the worlds. That tape had explained a lot of things. His own origins and even those of Doctor Eggman himself. What it failed to point out for him was the one thing he needed to know the most. What was he supposed to be?

Was he weapon, a body for a dark god, a healer, a saviour, a destroy or…or what? What was he supposed to be? What was he here for?

"Well?" Jefferson asked. Shadow was suddenly aware of all eyes on him. All of them Tikal included, were waiting for his answer. "What's it going to be?" A decision, a direction had to be taken now. Only one came to mind.

"I'm going to get the Chaos Emeralds." He replied, unfolding his arms. "If I've read these events right, then Krish needs them to carry out his plan." Slowly, he closed his eyes and let his senses lance outwards, probing the air itself for tell tale trace of Chaos energy. "Uh oh." He added suddenly, looking up. The six Chaos Emeralds that Metal Sonic took from the Blue Typhoon stood out like a lighthouse beacon, and they were moving. All six of them were travelling directly towards the seventh, which lay only a few miles away directly in the heart of the ruins of Station Square.

"Something has to be pretty wrong to make Shadow say… 'Uh Oh'." Bark whispered to Bean.

"We've got even less time then I thought." Shadow replied. "Sorry, but I've got to handle this one on my own." Without another word and before any of them could argue; the black and Red hedgehog disappeared in a short flash of green light.

"Hey, he ditched us!" Hare declared, looking a little agitated. Tikal shook her head.

"We'd just get in the way." She told them. "Shadow knows what he's doing." The female Echidna looked out towards the chaos gripping the world, a sudden worried expression on her face. "I hope."

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

Prof. Gerald knew about the merging worlds, and that wrist band he gave Shadow will really help them beat Metal Sonic and Krish? Hope it does, cause their going to need all the help they can get. Chaotix have front rows seats to the fight of the century, next time on Sonic X; the Clash of Titans! Don't miss it!


	51. Episode 26

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

Episode 26: The Clash of Titans

* * *

"Fall back." The President announced. The G.U.N Fleet, while an impressive work of construction was getting the heck beat out of it by the far more technologically advanced Black Arms and with Doctor Eggman bearing down on top of them as well meant trouble. They couldn't hold out much longer, this battle was one giant three for all and chaos ruled the skies. 

As the G.U.N fleet, or what was left of them, moved back into a thick line between their enemies at and the ground the order to cease fire was given. After a brief moment, all ships let their weapon's system quieten down and the airborne streams of bullets ceased to follow.

"What's this?" Eggman asked himself, looking up at the display before him with a quizzical look on his face. G.U.N had stopped fighting and all it was doing no were defensive actions. The Black Arms, clearly puzzled by the sudden change in strategy, had called a ceasefire as well. On both sides, quiet quickly settled and the remains of the last few minutes of the fighting had a chance to fall. By now the intense fighting had destroyed all the Machine Federation ships so at this point, it was simply G.U.N vs. the Black Arms. Well…there was the little matter of the mad genius who intended to use this opportunity for a strategic advantage.

The giant Eggman style Mech, standing on the front of the Whale Shark flagship turned it's colossal head to face the G.U.N flag ship, the flying fortress Giant Wing. With a soft click, it's targeting sensors locked onto the bridge and slowly it raised it's extremely heavy arms preparing for an assault.

Climbing up the side of the giant's leg was Knuckles, sinking his spurs into the metallic surface repeatedly to pull himself up as fast as he could. Within seconds, he had cleared the waist and was making a bee-line up the torso towards the chin. Unfortunately, this large robot had a security system of it's own and as he neared the shoulders, several doors opened up and large hunkering shapes that could only be Dreadnaught robots leaned outwards, weapons held at the ready.

Before they could fire, a kick came flying out of nowhere; sending one of them tumbling down the side of the giant robot, bouncing off the surface several times before hitting the deck of the ship itself. Rouge spread her wings and soured on, heading upwards towards the second robot; which changed missions priorities and opened fire on her instead of the Echidna. Sliding in between the laser fire, Rouge somersaulted upwards, the tip of her boat striking the robot straight across the chest forcing the metal monster back through the door.

Knuckles kept going, his arms moving with the persistence of a train constantly pulling upwards, his entire body ascending higher and higher. Reaching the shoulders of the giant , Knuckles found a large flat ledge and pushed to catch his breath .Gazing out from this height, he could see the robot was just about reach to fire. The energy gathering in the cannon on it's arms had nearly reached it's peak.

Holding his arm up, Knuckles forced his rushed breathing under control and began to hum to himself. It helped him to concentrate as he needed his full attention on this. He was gathering all his strength, every last ounce of it and forcing it into his arm. He clenched a fist, his entire body shaking with the effort. Time was running out, the giant was just about ready to fire.

His eyes snapped wide open and then he slammed his fist down with tremendous force down on the floor below him. Unluckily, he was too late, a second before he hit; the cannon fired. Even before the energy had finished leaping into the air from the weapon, cracks began running down from the shoulder Knuckles was perched on, carving themselves throughout the entire giant's body. The blow had sent rippling shockwaves downwards and they was vibrating so much, that it was shaking the Mech apart.

With a deafening crash, the arms fell away, leaving the entire thing unbalanced. Straining against the metal that held it together loudly, it began to break away.

"Need a lift?" Rouge asked, flying past, catching the Echidna as he leapt off the side to avoid going down with it. As the Mech crumbled into pieces on the deck of the Whale Shark, the energy beam it fired kept going, heading out towards Giant Wing. Had it not been for Tails' intervention the flying fortress would have been destroyed. The young fox piloted the Blue Typhoon directly in the blasts path and with a crash that seemed to shake the earth below them, it collided with the Egg Shield surrounding it.

"Oh this is ironic." Eggman muttered to himself as the shield which he himself had installed onto the Blue Typhoon reflected the blast right back towards him. Before anything could be done to prevent it, the blast struck the underside of the ship causing the whole thing to tip violently sideways.

"This ship is an impressive piece of engineering." Jalios stated, looking around the bridge and a little in awe at the stunt Tails had pulled off the ships' shield.

"Thanks." Tails replied with a short grin. "Chuck, tell G.U.N we'll take care of Eggman so they can deal with the Black Arms."

"Can do." The old man replied, already at the com system on the bridge.

"Attention unknown ships." The President began, speaking through the com systems of the Giant Wing flag ship which were broadcasting the signal towards the Black Arm Fleet. "I am the President of the United States. I wish to speak to whoever is in charge of your fleet." This was a risky move, but they couldn't hold out much longer if they kept on fighting. Perhaps diplomacy could succeed where force failed. Not a lot of Presidents previous would even resort to this. They would save face and keep fighting, well; Michael intended to be a new kind of President.

There was a short buzz and a voice began to reply.

"I am Commander Rikoye of the Black Arms sect." It stated. A second later, a video communication link was established and the President got his first look at a Fesionian. A sleek, grey scaled alien with large slender heads, flaxen yellow eyes and cloven hands. A metal ring was around it's neck, translating their language into English and vice versa. "What is it you want?"

"I just want to talk so we can stop shooting at each other." The President replied, trying not to be put off by their appearance.

"Talk?" Rikoye repeated in astonishment. This went against nearly all the intelligence Metal Sonic had given them about this culture. He claimed they were a barbaric and savage civilisation that never used compromise. The commander had been told all they cared about was themselves. "Why? How do I know this isn't some elaborate ploy?"

"You attacked us." The President reminded him. "We are simply defending our homes." Rikoye was baffled. Had all the information provided by the Machine Federation been false all along? "All I want to know is why."

It didn't take the two of them long to piece together what had happened. It became clear that the Black Arms had been lied to by Metal Sonic, duped into being the main force in his attack on Earth. Despite their superior technology, they had succumbed to simple deception. Rikoye suddenly felt like an idiot.

The Black Arms had been so desperate for somewhere to hide from the Confederacy Army, he had let them get pulled into an obvious lie. It soon became clear that Metal Sonic never had any intention of helping them at all.

"Tell all ships to stand down." The commander told the bridge and the order was give for all hostilities against G.U.N to end.

"Likewise." The President ordered and the same action was taken with the G.U.N fleet.

Dark Oak folded his arms as the two fleets began talking instead of fighting, putting all his hard work to waste. Metal Sonic would not be too pleased with this outcome…still, his opinions no longer mattered. The time had come to abandon this charade. His master's call was strong, compelling him to travel to the place of awakening and prepare the final phase. Presently, Dark Oak's comrade was waiting in the shadows for the right moment. Within the hour, everything they had worked so hard to organize would pay off. Eons of planning and waiting would finally be over. Victory was so close at hand, he could taste it.

A second later, his ship exploded on self destruct, destroying all the Metal X drones loyal to him, all the clan robots Metal Sonic had entrusted him with burning to cinders. But the General himself survived, disappearing from his throne at the second of detonation to reappear some distance away safely beyond the radius of the explosion. Shame, he rather liked that ship, but he would have no further use for it.

* * *

- 

"Hey, are you alright?" Vanilla opened her eyes as someone spoke to her. As if waking up from some sort of dream. The first thing she saw after everything stopped spinning as the green scaly face of a crocodile peering down at her, a pair of orange eyes set with a worried look blinked every now and then.

"I think so." Vanilla replied, rubbing the back of her head and Vector helped her up into a sitting position. Looking around, she saw she was outside sitting in the shadow of a crashed G.U.N ship. Their crashed G.U.N ship she remembered. A brief flash of memory crossed through her mind and she recalled the fall and escape from the Metal X fleet.

Emerl had had to put the vessel down in the middle of a street in the deserted Station Square city. The crumbling builds stood all around them, most of them damaged under the constant attacks from either Eggman or other enemies. The street below was hardly here any more, only a jagged ruin of asphalt covered in rubble and brick dust. It hadn't been too long ago when this had been a busy metropolis and a popular city in which to live. This city was a simple shadow of its former self.

Rei and Beck were sitting nearby with Cream and her Chao Cheese, sorting through the jagged remains of some of the stuff they had salvaged from the ship. As for Emerl himself, he seemed to have disappeared. And to note, so had Espio and Charmee.

"Looks like I owe you another apology." Vector began. "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have ended up in the middle of that." Vanilla just smiled at him.

"It's alright. I told you, I'm used to that sort of thing by now. Besides, I insisted on going." Well to be honest Cream had been the only who insisted on going. Vanilla had ended up tagging along really trying to make sure she was safe. She trusted Emerl, but one could never have enough protection. Seems that statement had been proved right.

With a loud thud, the unconscious forms of Espio, Fang and Charmee dropped down from the top of the ship and landed directly in front of them. Fang had been the one to receive the worst punishment, cuts running all over his arms, the blood staining his fur. Espio still had a shuriken in his hand; he'd been taken out before he'd even had a chance to throw the thing. As for Charmee, the bee had lost his goggles and had a deep bruise on the side of his check were something had hit him hard. Rei rushed over instantly to check them all to make sure they were alright. Thankfully, all of them were still breathing.

Looking up, Vector could see the one to blame standing on the top of their crashed ship and despite his own philosophy of defiance he had to back away. A pair of glowing red eyes were looking straight down at them from the depths of a raven black visor. A royal blue form clad in armour with a flowing purple cape hanging from the shoulders stood there, arms with thick bracers folded in front of its chest. As if in orbit, the remaining six Chaos Emeralds slowly circled around it. Vector remembered him from the Egg Fleet attack and had more than enough incentive to fear him.

_"You have something I want."_ Metal Sonic stated flatly. Beside him, armed with a very large laser rifle was Egg Robo, its own red eyes glaring down at them. Hovering above them was the Falcon shaped ship they had arrived in, its shadow slowly spreading over the ground the tips of the wings glinting brightly in the sunshine.

His metal feet scraping against the side of the crashed ship, Metal Sonic slid down the side of it down to the ground, Egg Robo close behind.

_"Egg-Robo, destroy these idiots."_ Metal Sonic stated, jabbing a curved metallic talon towards them. The Eggman shaped robot saluted, before turning to face Chaotix. Metal Sonic turned his head and face Cream, who staggered backwards under his gaze; clutching the Chaos Emerald closer to her. _"Now then Cream, be a good little girl and hand that over."_ He told her, walking towards her slowly and raising his left arm. Instantly, the Emeralds he had flew towards it and hovering there. _"You can either give that to me, or I pry it from your cold fingers."_ The robotic hedgehog stood towering over her, his eyes glowing bright red. _"It makes no difference to me."_

"Get away from my daughter!" A voice shouted. Metal Sonic looked aside just in time to use his spare arm to parry a blow as Vanilla smashed a lead pipe she'd picked up towards him. With a single flick of his wrist, Metal Sonic batted her away sending Vanilla flying backwards towards a wall. Vector, acting on instinct rather than anything else flung himself in between Vanilla and the wall. There was a sickening thud as she slammed her back into him and then the two of them hit the wall, before sliding down to the floor.

"Wait, stop!" Cream cried as Metal Sonic raised his palm to fire an energy blast to finish the both of them off.

There was a sharp blur of blue and the two mobians disappeared a second before Metal fired, his attack missing.

"You again?"

Looking across, Cream saw who had saved her mother and her would be suitor. Vector and Vanilla lay unconscious a little further away and standing over them as a protector was the blue hedgehog she knew to well, green eyes looked onto Metal Sonic; glaring in defiance.

A second later, a metal claw came smack down on the back of her head stunning the rabbit girl forcing her to drop her Emerald. Even before it was beyond her fingers, Metal Sonic snatched it out of the air and added it to his collection, completing the set of seven.

"No!" Sonic called over, tensing into a pounce with fists clenched in a fighting stance. By now it was far too late; Metal Sonic began channelling the power from all seven Chaos Emeralds into an energy blast. As sparks began to fly, a black object came hurtling out of nowhere to slam as hard as it could into the robotic hedgehog's back. Metal Sonic staggered forward and in that instantly, the seven Emeralds were torn from orbit around and chucked through the air to land in a random heap a short distance away.

"Shadow?" Sonic asked as he saw the black and red hedgehog rebound of the side of a ruined building before spinning back towards Metal Sonic. The robotic hedgehog caught his attempt for an attack with his right bracer and parried it away, before striking out with a fist sending Shadow coursing through the air and straight into the side of a wall which in its ruined state began crumbling, cracks spreading through the surface until it collapsed on top of him.

Egg Robo raised his gun and fired at Rei, who ducked under the laser blast before dodging behind the back end of the ship to avoid being riddled with holes. Beck picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it with all the strength he had at the sniper android. It made a large dent in the back of the head and made the robot staggered about on one leg before regaining its balance and about faced to aim its weapon directly at Beck. Before it could fire however, a flying metal fist came souring out of the air and grasped its fingers in a vice like grip around the laser rifle. The grip tightened instantly and it crushed the weapon into scrap metal.

Before Egg Robo could do anything about it, the owner of the hand came hurtling down to smash a kick directly into its face. Emerl retracted his hand from the smouldering remains of the rifle, before going on a tight offensive with a blur of punches to the sniper androids chest plate.

Without a weapon, Egg Robo defected to his programmed knowledge of martial arts and began blocking Emerl's attacks. When it became clear that no punch was going to get through the sudden defence, Emerl changed tactics. Drawing back a distance; the robot paused to fire one of his hands in a punch straight at the sniper android which caught the fist stopping the attack. That left him open to an attack from the rear as Emerl's other hand came rocketed around and sank it's metal fingers into the back of Egg Robo's head and with a sudden motion, tore the back armour out, exposing the electronic brain inside.

Cream rubbed the back of her head, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Her vision had blurred and she had a terrible headache.

"Chao Chao!" Cheese began, flying hurriedly to her side a worried expression on his small blue face. Cream looked up to see Sonic and Metal Sonic going one on one, the air so thick of kicks and punches it was almost impossible to see the combatants themselves.

Shadow heaved himself up out of the rubble and shook the brick dust out of his quills. This fight had to end. It was only playing into Krish' hands, serving his sick and twisted plan, whatever it was. This had to end now. Launching forward, Shadow shot across the ground like a bullet to plough directly into the side of Metal Sonic as the robotic hedgehog was preparing to deliver a punch to his organic counterpart.

Forced to the side, Metal Sonic sank a foot into the ground and dragged it, slowing him down. Sonic took the opportunity to go on the offensive as well and together, Sonic and Shadow tore through Metal Sonic's defensives to land so many blows it was beyond counting.

Backing off to a distance, the two of them cast each other a glance, nodded before turning about and firing both of their signature energy attacks at the same time. Chaos Spear merged with Sonic wind in an astonishing display, a beam of golden energy that coursed through the air and hit Metal Sonic with full force. The Robotic hedgehog disappeared in a short flash of light before dust erupted from the ground, blanketing everything in a thick haze.

As it began to settle, they could still that the leader of Metal X was still standing. Although there were now black scorch marks running all over his armour and at least half of his purple cape had been burned off. Apart from that he hadn't sustained much damage at all.

_"Turn about is fair play boys!"_ The robot shouted, trusting on hand up into the air palm flat towards the sky. Sonic blinked, recognising what he was doing. This was the same technique he used against the blue hedgehog when they fought on the falling Icarus. This new Metal Sonic could copy any fighting technique used against him and sent it right back.

Before Sonic had the chance to open his mouth to warn shadow, Metal Sonic threw his arm forward as that same combined attack they had used on him rocketed right back at them. Sonic hit the deck but Shadow managed to get it full in the air, only throwing up an energy defence in time to prevent being destroyed but even so he was not able to stop himself from behind blown across the ground to smash into a building, disappearing into the darkness.

Metal Sonic lowered his arm and then glanced to the side at the seven Chaos Emeralds lying nearby.

Now well aware of his sudden disadvantage, Egg Robo broke off the fighting to back away to a safer distance. That didn't stop Emerl though; he charged forward and smashed another punch directly into Egg Robo's head trying to weaken him even further. The armour at the front of the sniper Android's head proved to be sufficiently stronger than that at the back and Egg robot grabbed Emerl by the wrist, tossed him violently over his shoulders and into the side of the crashed ship.

Emerl lay imprinted in the metal, his system temporary knocked offline by the shockwave. Egg Robot raised his own metal fist and prepared a fishing punch. At that last second however, Beck and Rei slammed the lead pipe Vanilla had been using a little while before directly into the back of his head. There was a loud scraping noise and the entire of the pipe lanced out the front of the sniper android's face.

Emerl wrenched himself free in that instant, lifted both arms sent both his fists flying forward at the same time; tearing through Egg Robo's head completely.

"Hey Vanilla, wake up." Vanilla began, trying to shake the female rabbit awake. It was no good. She was out cold.

"Is she alright?" Cream asked, hurrying to her mother's side.

"She'll be ok once she wakes up." Vector replied, before casting a glance out towards the battle.

_"The Chaos Emeralds!"_ Metal Sonic declared, before darting to the side in a sudden burst of speed towards them.

"Oh no you don't!" Sonic called after him, before his legs turned into a blur and he shot off like a bullet.

Shadow shoved the masonry rubble off him and somersaulted back to his feet. He paused just long enough to shake the brick dust out of his quills before rocketing forward skating across the ground.

It was a frantic rush between the three of them. Metal Sonic, Sonic himself and Shadow were all heading towards the Emeralds in a frantic race to be the first to claim them. Time seemed to almost slow down to a crawl, as if they were all in painful slow motion.

A second later, or an eternity, they all reached the same point at the same time. And that was when the ring around Shadow's wrist, the one with the blue strap began to glow brightly.

The Seven Chaos Emeralds lay there silently for a moment, before a bright flare erupted into the air, spreading outwards like the rising of a sun, engulfing both Sonic and Shadow in an instant. A second later, Metal Sonic was swallowed up by it. All Seven Emeralds converged together and at that point, their energy was released in one sudden and extreme burst. A single beam of white light lanced from the ground to the sky, the clouds parting around it. It crashed through Metal Sonic's ship tearing it apart in the process. Dancing around this single pillar were lightning bolts of seven different colours. The sky seemed to darken and the only source of light was this spectacular display.

Even from the fleets suspended silently in the air miles away it could be seen, an object of light so intense it baffled the mind.

"What is that?" Cosmo asked, staring out in wonder. Never in her life had she seen anything so beautiful. Jalios, their Black Arm passenger looked equally amazed. Her sect had travelled the universe, seen nebulas and star systems, super nova's and black holes and never had they seen something like this.

Cream let her arms drop away from her face and stared off to see a single figure standing there; a mobian seemingly wrapped in light. There was still a fair amount of dust in the air and it took a moment for any of them to see who it was clearly. Suddenly, Cream gained a huge grin and started cheering.

"Alright they did it!" She cried.

"Chao Chao!" Cheese went beside her. Standing there was hedgehog with pure white fur and long jagged quills curving up from the top of his head. His eyes were a pale green and shoes and gloves a mixture of Sonic and Shadow's styles. The entire body was surrounded by a thick orb of light that pulsated like the beating of a heart, occasional sparks of energy sliding over it's surface.

He was Nazo.

"They beat Metal Sonic…they did it!" Cream continued, dancing from one foot to the other.

"Wow." Rei added in, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "I thought nothing could stop that robot."

"See, I told you the situation was under control." Vector proclaimed confidentially.

"Sorry guys, but I'm afraid we're not out of the woods just yet." Nazo replied, keeping his gaze fixed forward, his body rigid in a fighting stance. Cream and Cheese stopped their cheering and paused, looking confused. Vector strained against the dust to see what lay in front of them and as the clouds began to settle, he caught sight of something there. A dark, jagged shape with a pair of bright red points blaring out from the head.

Slowly, it raised it's arms to cross over it's chest before it threw them out again and in that instant, there was a bright flash of golden light that sparked brighter than the sun blinding anyone who was looking directly at it. Only Nazo was able to keep himself calm against it was the flare erupted up towards the sky, carving through the clouds and up into space itself. Finally the dust cleared completely as Nazo's opponent was revealed.

Metal Sonic was no longer his former self. His royal blue armour had changed to a brilliant gold and the white stripes that ran down his quills were now jet black. His entire body was surrounded by flowing golden energy, rippling through the air like intense heat, distorting the image of anything around it. The eyes were glowing intensely blood red, their glow trailing through the air following the direction of whatever way the robotic hedgehog turned his head.

"Would you look at that…" Vector began in astonishment, out towards him as Metal Sonic rose up into the air and hovered there surrounded by a thick shield of the purest Chaos energy, the tattered remains of his cloak trailing out behind him. He was now Super Metal Sonic. Slowly, the robot reached up and uncoupled it from his shoulder pads, letting the smouldering remains to fall to the ground.

Nazo managed a thick smile.

"That look is so you." He stated, before folding his arms. "Too bad it's not permanent. Gold is really your colour."

_"It doesn't have to be permanent."_ Metal Sonic said in reply. _"Just long enough to rip you limb from limb."_ Oh, how much he had been looking forward to this moment. Finally, a rematch with Nazo, the being who defeated him in the first place. Finally, after all the scheming, the deception and hunting; he finally had what he wanted. The fight could go either way at this point, Metal Sonic didn't care, he had what he really wanted. Right now, the Machine Federation and it's ambition to control the world could go hang.

* * *

- 

Flip Card 1:

Name: Nazo

Description: The fused hedgehog made up from Shadow and Sonic. Even so, there may be more to him than it appears.


	52. Episode 26, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: Super Metal Sonic

Description: Instead of transforming into Metal Overlord, Metal Sonic became his true super form.

* * *

- 

The first collision was like something breaking the sound barrier. A thick shockwave passed through the air, shattering whatever windows remained in station square and knocking Chaotix off their feet.

As the two superpowers clashed, it was like a thunderstorm; conflicting powers of monumental proportions sparking against one another. Nazo and Super Metal Sonic, two of the most powerful beings ever to walk the Earth.

Nazo went on the offensive, striking against Super Metal Sonic with a rapid succession of punches that knocked the super powered robot in nearly every direction, before sliding back across the ground to a safe distance and cupping his hands above his head. Energy sparked across his white body for a moment before a beam of intense chaos energy erupted forth like a volcano smashing into Super Metal Sonic's body. The robotic hedgehog disappeared in a flash of light as the attack exploded in his face. Nazo lowered his arms trying to see through the smoke what was going on. There was no way it had been that easy.

_"Is that all you've got?"_ A voice asked, before a golden blur shot of nowhere and smashed a knee into Nazo's stomach knocking the wind out of him. Gagging out in pain the hedgehog was sent rocketing up high into the air and was left open to an attack. An opportunity Super Metal Sonic took full advantage of, leaping up to his level and smashing a full force of blurred punches into his body before clenching his hands together and delivering one last powerful blow to the white hedgehog's back. Nazo was sent cascading down towards the ground.

Jus before he hit it though, the fused hedgehog regained his senses and somersaulted back upright, rebounding off the ground with one foot before souring back upwards with both fists held back.

Laughing, Super Metal Sonic held both hands out flat in front of himself as dozens of energy attacks launched from him at once down toward his approaching enemy. Nazo threw his hand out and an identical number of energy blasts rocketed forward, colliding with those of the robotic hedgehog. Flying through the intense barrage of explosions, Nazo clashed straight into Super Metal Sonic and the two opponents began exchanging super fast blows in mid air.

"Wow! Look at the two of them go!" Rei remarked before the two of them smashed their fists into each other and a blinding flash erupted into the air.

Slamming down into the ground, Nazo dragged his foot across the tarmac to slow himself down. This new Metal Sonic had been strong even before he got a power boost from the Chaos Emeralds. His super form was just as powerful as he was now. They were easily matched.

Glancing to the side, the white hedgehog held out his hands and grasped them between Super Metal Sonic's talons as the robotic hedgehog came bolting out of the side of a building in an ambush. A titanic power struggle engaged as the two of them trying to outdo each other in strength, pushing against the other in a tug of war of epic proportions.

Finally Nazo kicked Super Metal Sonic aside and raced off down the street with the robotic hedgehog in a near instant.

"Wanna race?" Nazo asked as Super Metal Sonic drew up alongside him.

_"I'm not interested in paying games. I want to fight."_ The robotic hedgehog replied with a great deal of malice in his voice before taking a swipe. Nazo ducked under it before leaping up towards a building, rebounding off a wall before shooting up onto the rooftops.

"Gee, all you had to say was no thanks." The white hedgehog remarked folding his arms. Super Metal Sonic came soured up with his arms spread, two energy attacks already burning like fire between his steal talons. "Ah sh…" A blast fog old bolts was launched straight at him and caught him head on. His body was tossed violently into the air before being ploughing him down through the side of a building, several walls and finally the ground itself. Crashing into the ground causing a large crater, Nazo tried to pick himself up but before he could, Super Metal Sonic came souring in grabbed him around the neck with his metal talons, lifting him into the air before smashing punch after punch into his stomach with the free hand.

Nazo's eyes snapped white open glowing brightly white and suddenly a shockwave shot outwards, forcing the robotic hedgehog backwards. Before he could defend, it was Nazo's turn to go on the offensive.

A kick landed itself directly against Super Metal Sonic's face, before a powerful energy attack came souring out from the dust sending him crashing into the side of a building. A white blur shot after him, grabbing him by the ankle and tossing him back towards the street outside.

Righting himself in mid air, The robotic hedgehog dragged his foot through the ground and slowed down to a stop. Clenching his fist, the glow surrounding his body intensified and shooting forward like a bullet he shot forward towards Nazo.

Nazo caught his punch in his open hand and used his other to parry of a kick. The two of them remained there, trying to out-do each other in strength before they broke back to safe distance, before ploughing into each other again and again punches so fast passing between them the naked eye couldn't see it.

_"I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this."_ Super Metal Sonic told his opponent as they clashed, running through the deserted streets of the ruined city. A metal hand lashed out, grabbing Nazo by the top of the head. _"If I'm honest, the plans of the Machine Federation meant nothing to me. They were simply a means to achieve this goal, this one fight. I'll simply take world conquest as a reward for winning."_ Nazo smiled, the grin visible through the metal talons wrapped around his head.

"Didn't think you'd gone completely evil." The robotic hedgehog suddenly looked a little confused. "Ruthless maybe, but if all you really want is this fight then your more like Sonic then you'd care to admit." The glow from the red eyes intensified and Super Metal Sonic tossed Nazo into the air, before landing a punch against the side of his chest.

_"Don't get me wrong. I've every intention of rebuilding the Earth into a metal paradise. But for some reason, this fight seems more important."_ Nazo lay there on the floor, chuckling under his breath. Whoever had rebuilt Metal Sonic into this new version had failed to completely remove the robotic hedgehog's full personality. _"So get back up and give me the battle I've been waiting for!"_ The smirk on Nazo's face widened.

"If you insist." As if he hadn't been hurt as all, the white hedgehog somersaulted back to his feet in an instant and smashed a punch directly into Super Metal Sonic's face causing him to topple backwards.

* * *

- 

With the Black Arms and G.U.N opening up dialogue instead of fighting, The main focus of the Blue Typhoon now was keeping the Egg Fleet of their backs. Doctor Eggman, determined to blast his weakened enemies into oblivion while he had the chance kept getting frustrated by that one single ship, which he ironically, had helped to put together. Still, that gave him a small advantage. It was an advanced ship, but he held half it's knowledge. He knew how the Egg Shield protecting it from the barrage of his fleet could be shut down.

"Have the Flag Ship's cannons target the top of their shield." He stated, watching the displays on the screen coming in from the entire Egg Fleet.

_"__Aye Aye Doctor." _Becoe replied already relaying the order. The turrets on the front of the ship rose up into view and began rotating around so their barrels could aim directly at the Blue Typhoon, which now was engaging in a dog fight with one of the larger battleships. While his Egg Fleet had superior numbers, their ship was far more advance and so he wasn't getting anywhere with sheer force attacks. This was time for advance strategy.

As the only working Mech, Okida piloted the Spider walker they'd stolen from the Metal X Machine Federation out onto the deck of the Blue Typhoon to get a better offensive advantage against the ship they were facing. Flying along side them, all its cannons comparing their shield was one of the largest battleships. Shaped like a sword fish with a long flat nose lined with turrets, this colossal thing was about their size and had enough firepower to blast them out of the sky. Where it not for the advanced technology onboard keeping them safe they'd have been destroyed by them.

Okida swung his Mech around to face the ship head on and then fired an intense volley of missiles its way. They sank into the hull of the ship in several places but didn't tear it open. Smashing the front legs of his Mech down into the surface for an anchor, the major began powering up the main weapon of the Walker, a plasma beam generator. The jaws of the spider opened wide and a second later, purple lightning danced down its legs as a beam shot forth, slid through the shield surrounding their vessel to collide with full force directly into the front of the ship; breaking off the nose and all the turrets along with it.

Tails didn't waste he opportunity. As the enemy ship titled sideways, he swung the Typhoon around and emptied half his missiles directly into the wound on the front. There was a tremendous explosion and the Eggman Empire ship began falling down towards the ground engulfed in flames.

"Weapons fire inbound!" Someone yelled and Tails looked up in time to see an intense barrage of shelling come raining down towards them, all launched from the weapons on the Flag Ship. Before anything could be done, the attack hit the top of their shield with an echoing sound that seemed to shake the entire ship. The barrage didn't let up but thankfully the shield itself seemed to be holding up.

That is until three other ship flying in a triangle formation came up at the Blue Typhoon from underneath, their cannons firing directly into the underside of the shield. With an intense barrage hitting the Egg Shield from both below and above, their protective barrier began to buckle under the strain. Their egg was beginning to crack.

"Ten second until the shield gives out!" Sam stated, reading off the reports coming up to the bridge. "Then we're sitting ducks!"

(Damn Eggman!) Tails thought to himself angrily. They should have known he would betray them like this, it was who he was. The Doctor liked fighting, but he liked winning even more. All he had ever been concerned in was either saving his own hide or his petty appetite for conquest. He had sided with them against Metal X out of self preservation and when it looked like they were about to be either killed or captured, like a rat deserting a sinking ship he let, not without stealing the Master Emerald to power his Flagship.

With Metal Sonic now in possession of the six Emeralds they had it had been extremely difficult to get their ship moving again. They would have been dead in the water without the source of Chaos Energy their Black Arm dissident, Jalios had been able to procure for them. It was a small generator of sorts but of a foreign design, smaller than the average mobian and was by no means a more powerful source of energy than the Chaos Emeralds but it had served their purposes thus far. Unfortunately, it was not an indefinite source of power; it was being to burn out under the constant demand. Right now according to their reads outs, they had about forty percent left and most of that was quickly being used up to reinforce the shield. If this kept up they'd use up all their energy and instead of being blown into oblivion, then they'd fall to their deaths.

"Not on my watch." Okida muttered to himself, firing a beam of plasma energy directly up towards the Flagship, striking the colossal Whale shark across the bow. The blast did nothing, the ship was simply too big for that small an attack to have any effect. It managed to carve a single scar through the metal but compared with the sheer size of the vessel itself the effort was obviously to no avail. It did however force the guns to stop firing, the turrets on the top of the ship growing quiet.

"Their shields ready to give in!" The Doctor began with a thick smile, a wide smile spread over his face. "Finish them…" Before he could finish, the door at the back of the bridge forced itself open and fell down, a large dent smashed in its surface. Standing there in the doorway was an Echidna covered in angry red fur and sharp purple eyes locked directly onto them. Behind him, the remains of security Dreadnaughts posted outside the door lay scattered across the ground, smoke rising from the charred remains.

_"Agh Knuckles!"_ Decoe exclaimed, shooting up from his seat and back away with his metallic comrade Becoe to run back to a safe distance. The Echidna clenched his fists by his sides and began to make his way towards them.

"How in blazes did you get onboard!" Eggman demanded in utter surprise nearly falling out of his seat. The Echidna did not reply. He glanced up at the Master Emerald, the power source for the Whale Shark Flagship, a jewel he had pledged his life to protect lying encased in wires; a simple tool to be used. "Becoe, Decoe get him!" Eggman ordered the two robots, who shrank away like cowards behind a chair.

"With the greatest respect Doctor…you on your own!" Becoe replied, poking his out from behind their hiding place for a moment. The doctor growled angrily, before turning to the console

"SECURITY, get in here NOW!" He shouted down into an intercom, smashing his hand down on the pad.

"Don't bother." Knuckles finally stated; his back still to the Doctor as he exclaimed the encasings of the Emerald. "They're already in pieces. You're all alone."

"Now…now Knuckles…I'm sure we can come to….to some agreement here…th…there's no need f…f…for violence!" Eggman shuttered; a sudden worried look over his face.

"No need?" The guardian of Angel Island asked sceptically, a thick sadistic smirk playing itself over his lips. "You betray my friends; steal the Master Emerald, leave us to die by the hands of aliens and then try to kill us yourself and you say there's no need for violence?" There a sudden blur of white and Rouge the bat appeared next to the pillar they had the Master Emerald encased in, wires feeding off its energy to keep the Flag ship in the air.

"We beg to differ." She stated, leaning against the giant jewel while the red Echidna cracked the knuckles on each hand. Each of them had a very sadistic glare on their faces.

"We beg to differ a lot." Knuckles added; his smirk widening.

* * *

- 

Battles had been tough before, but none of them had come close to how intense this one was. Nazo was being pushed to his limits as he clashed with Super Metal Sonic through the deserted streets of Station Square, ploughing through buildings and abandoned vehicles. Even so, in this fight to the death, he was actually enjoying himself. The side of him that came from Sonic was filled with acceleration, excitement and trill as punches and kicks were exchanged so fast it was hard to see. Super Metal Sonic was without a doubt the strongest opponent thus far either Sonic or Shadow had ever faced.

The robotic hedgehog arrived on a kick with the side of his bracer, before lashing out with metal talons nearing scouring a direct hit on the hedgehog's side. Nazo slide through the swings, getting in close to smash a head but directly into Super Metal Sonic's face. The two of them collided with the side of a wall and was sent right through it in a cloud of brick dust.

As the robotic hedgehog slammed into the ground, Nazo smashed his arm onto his neck and kept him pinned there, their energy fields conflicting with each other; gold struggling against white.

From the stop of their crashed ship, Vanilla was watching the fight with awe on her face. Even the fight between Nazo and Metal Overlord hadn't been anything like this. Vector was still down on the ground tending to the unconscious Vanilla, Espio and Charmee. For obvious reasons he left Fang lying there.

"I wish I had some popcorn." Rei remarked, watching the fight being the young rabbit girls' side. Emerl watched from a distance as well. Through his electronic sensors, he was registering intense energy exchanges. All seven Chaos Emeralds acting at once and with two so powerful opponents the energy readings were off the scale.

Super Metal Sonic grabbed Nazo's arm and pushed against it, trying to get enough room to pull himself up. Nazo however wasn't giving him much leeway, keeping him pinning there. Suddenly however, both of the robotic hedgehog's legs swung open and the jets on the underside of the feet turned on full blast, a powerful blast striking Nazo straight in the stomach. There was a bright flash and the white hedgehog was sent spiralling through the air before disappearing through the window of a store nearby.

The robotic hedgehog flipped back to his feet and launched into attack, firing at least twenty energy attacks at once into the building; causing the whole thing to collapse with Nazo still inside. As the dust began bellowing up into the sky, Super Metal Sonic stood up out of a fighting stance and remained still, silhouetted by the sunset. Was that it he wondered? Had the battle been won? Had he finally done it? Without warning two hands lashed out of the ground beneath him and grabbed his ankles. Before he could do anything to stop it, the robotic hedgehog was yanked violently down below ground into the sewers. Nazo was there waiting for him, already with a punch ready.

Super Metal Sonic fell backwards in the water, a large dent created in his armoured chest plate. Nazo stood over him, a large smile on his face.

"How was that fight for you?" He asked, dusting his hands. The glow from Metal Sonic's eyes increased and almost like skin, the metal remoulded itself back into its original shape. The nano-bots running through his body could heal him of virtually any wound and allowed him to copy most techniques used against him.

_"Good, but not great."_ Metal replied, rising to his feet; metal fists clenched at his sides.

"Fine then." Nazo replied, his smile widening. "Let's dance!"

Manhole covers flew off as the two of them began fighting again, speeding through the sewers like bullets. It was like a maze down there and the game they ended up playing was cat and mouse, hiding before trying to catch the other of guard. The ground beneath those members of Chaotix who were still conscious was shaking at the clashes and at one point Vector was almost convinced it would cave in beneath them.

Catching Nazo off guard, Super Metal Sonic flew out from the darkness grabbing the white hedgehog around the neck with a hand before throw both of them down through the floor into a lower level with a cascade of stagnant water pouring after them. Plunging down through the water and into the depths, the two of them kept fighting despite the lack of air; pouring every ounce of strength they had into conflict with one another.

Flying up out of the water his quills still matted, Nazo arched his hands and fired a single energy attack down into the depths below as Metal began to surface. The robotic hedgehog caught the blast head out and was sent back down as the water itself boiled and churned before a geyser exploded. After that, everything grew silent.

Nazo dropped down to the side of a stone walkway to catch his breath.

The fight had brought them down into an underground part of the sewers he doubted anyone had been in for at least ten years. Above the water pit below was a series of metal and stone catwalks and above them was a curved stone ceiling. Exactly how far from the surface had they fallen? The white hedgehog hadn't time to ponder the answer as a metal claw lashed out from the water, grabbing him by the foot and dragging him under. There was a brief exchange of blows and a second later a stray energy bolt tore a wall open and water began pouring out to some other place. Nazo and the robotic hedgehog went tumbling with it, down through the tunnels, large pipes and water falls; smashing punches and punches into one another all the while and ignoring the ride completely.

Nazo grabbed Metal Sonic's head and then head butted him several times before the robotic hedgehog relinquished his grip on the white Hedgehog's arms. Before either of them could continue the fight, they went cascading off the edge of a waterfall and down through a dark tunnel laden with mod and fungi before emerged down into another underground chamber, a wide curved space with a curved ceiling and thin carpet of water covering the floor.

There the fight recommenced, energy attacks lighting up the shadows as the two of them went at it again, refusing to give up; desperately trying to outdo one another. Chunks of rock began falling from the ceiling as bolts missing their mark stuck the walls, the ground beneath their feet shaking as they clash.

Hands slammed together with a shockwave that made the entire chamber even more unstable. The two of them remained there, fingers interlocked as their fought trying to push each other back.

_"When I kill you I'll be free from control."_ Super Metal Sonic stated, his eyes glowing brightly._ "I can finally be who I want to be, without either Sonic or Shadow trying to change me."_

"Sonic didn't do anything." Nazo told him. "You changed into what you where by yourself. Whoever told you otherwise was lying. There's no need for this lust for power and revenge."

_"All you organic's ever engage in is one never ending quest to control one another, the many always controlled by the few."_ Metal Sonic replied flatly, before smashing a kick into Nazo's stomach forcing the two of them back from one another._ "The world you fight to protect has had my new world order a long time coming. When Machines are put in charge, the insane policies of your world will come to an end."_

"The world doesn't need one power controlling everything." Nazo stated, descending into a fighting stance his hands held ready for an energy blast. "That leads to only misery and dictatorship." He forged a smile. "Just ask Eggman."

_"Then your factions are destined to fight each other till doomsday." _The robotic hedgehog remarked, before clenching his fists and a bolt of intense energy pasting between his arms. _"Which for you is sooner rather than later!"_ His fists flew open and two orbs of golden energy began to accumulate between them, growing brighter and brighter.

"Let's go then!" Nazo shouted, before his hands threw themselves up and all the energy he had left began gathering in one sudden burst, his glow intensifying with each second that last. Lighting flashed through the chamber, conflicting colours of white, blue, gold and red, making everything look like a tech-disco.

_"__Now die!"_ Metal shouted, before throwing his arms forward delivering all his energy in one solid burst, a shockwave unlike anything before rocketing outwards as a beam of blue energy lancing out like a sword towards Nazo.

The white hedgehog narrowed his eyes, before throwing his own arms forward and his own attack rocketing forward. The ground shook like ten earthquakes were happening all at once, half of the chamber caving in before the attacks collided with one another. A brilliant white light erupted outwards in a dazzling display that seemed to consume everything in its path.

"Holy mother of!" Vector exclaimed as every manhole cover down the street flew upwards, a shaft of white light lancing out from beneath each one with lighting sparking around it. The ground shook like there was no tomorrow, the clouds above thundering like nothing on earth.

"What the hell is going on!" Beck demanded hardly able to keep his balance.

"At a rough guess…" Rei began, hanging onto the side of the ship with one hand with helping Cream up from the side of the drop with the other. "I'd say it's the end of the world."

Finally the discharge of energy ended and with one last explosion, the chamber collapsed completely and both combatants were thrown into the next room through a solid brick one. Instead of two, there was now three. Colliding with the side of a stone pillar, the exhausted Nazo separated into the two hedgehogs used to make him up and once Metal Sonic hit the ground his glow died away to nothing and his metal skin changed from gold back to blue. Dust began to bellow up into the air and for a while, all three of them were silent. It was only when the dust began to settle on top of them did anyone start moving. The seven Emeralds that had fuelled their battle lay scattered around the chamber in random locations, their glow diminished sufficiently. Metal Sonic strained to push himself up, battle scars running down each arm, the nano-bots in his body were having a difficult time repairing them.

_"Come on, I'm not finish yet."_ He began, making his way to one knee.

"Yeah? Well neither are we!" Sonic replied, heavily out of breath. Shadow forced himself up as well. This fight couldn't drag on any longer. They had to confront the real enemy now. The enemy working all of this from behind the scenes.

"Both of you…wait!" He began, gesturing to both of them to stop. Metal Sonic and Sonic himself cast a glance in his direction. "We shouldn't be fighting one another right now."

_"Are you simple?"_ The robotic hedgehog asked flatly. _"And why not?"_

"'Cause we're all being played like pawns in a game of chess." The black Hedgehog stated.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You really think we all wound up here, in this place, with all Seven Chaos Emeralds by accident? Look around, what do you see?" The other two glanced around the chamber and found that they were standing in and found it worth their attention. It was carved from advanced Black Arm technology, constructs the like of which they'd never seen before stood half concealed in the shadows. As they eyes grew more accustomed to the light, they could see what this place was. It was some kind of entrance hall for a larger complex, a large iron door barring their way to the rest of the place on their left hand side.

Realization flooded into Sonic's eyes.

"Here!" He began in utter amusement. "The ancient Technology was here, under Station Square all along!"

_"Impossible!"_ Metal Sonic exclaimed, equally as stunned._ "I was informed it was in the Sahara Desert!"_

"By who?" Shadow asked, his red eyes locked onto the robotic hedgehog. It was then Metal Sonic finally realized he'd been betrayed. It was then he came to know how small a player he was in a game larger than his own ambitions.

"By me of course." A voice stated. Whipping around, all of them turned to see a figure standing on the top of one of the machines. A mobian sized being hidden behind a cloak and a steal mask covering the face. There was a powerful green glow emitting from the visor. It was him, Metal Sonic's Benefactor.

_"I should have known you'd try something like this."_ The robotic hedgehog shouted, anger flooding into his eyes. The strange figure chuckled loudly, before turning to the other two present.

"Good to see you again. It's been a long time." Shadow and Sonic cast each other a glance, both unsure of what he was talking about.

"Haven't had the pleasure." The black hedgehog replied.

"Yeah, cloak, metal mask, the scary green eyes….sorry doesn't ring a bell. And I'm good with faces." Sonic added in with another of his infamous smiles.

"Shame." The figure replied flatly, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "It seems I didn't make a lasting impression before." Slowly, he reached up with long fingers and touched his steel mask. The skin on his arm was snow white. "I'll try to do better this time around." With one fluid motion he removed it, revealing his ragged face. He was an Echidna, with pale white fur and a short beard. Deep scars ran all over his face.

It took a moment for Metal Sonic to place a name to him, but when he did, he staggered backwards in a mixture of amazement and horror. Despite the colour change and injuries, it was still that same Echidna.

_"Mishoal!"_ He exclaimed in amazement. Here was the high priest of the Echidnas, the greatest servant of the dark god Krish Kra Pal. They had seen him when they journeyed into Mobius' past. His preaching's were the reason their kind attacked the Emerald shrine. He had convinced the Echidna people to worship Krish. His Benefactor has been him all along?

"Didn't Perfect Chaos drop a cathedral on you?" Sonic asked, jabbing a finger forward. The ancient Echidna chucked, folding his arms.

"That it did and were it not for the intervention of my master, I would have been destroyed."

"Krish…" Shadow muttered from between clenched teeth, eyes set in a rage.

_"Now you show your face coward."_ Metal sonic snarled, clenching a fist toward him. _"What kind of game were you playing behind the scenes?"_

Metal sonic snarled, clenching a fist toward him. 

"What would you have cared?" Mishoal laughed, crossing his arms. "All you obsessed about was your own petty vengeance. You suspected me of treachery, yet so long as I helped you in your quest you cared little. That made you a perfect servant." Metal Sonic's eyes blared bright red in response.

"I serve no one!"

"You honestly think you needed to know about it in order to serve?" Mishoal asked with a sick smile. "Everyone is a slave to something. Whether it's a dictator, or a fashion trend. They don't realize it, but they are." His smile widened. "You just happen to be in service of a god."

_"Not for much longer I won't!"_ Metal replied, raising his hand and firing a energy attack directly towards the Ancient Echidna. Just before it hit him, something darted in between and absorbed the blast, saluting it in the air and it faded away to nothing._ "What is…"_ Metal Sonic began, his words dying away when he saw who had protected Mishoal.

It was Dark Oak. Metal Sonic's most trusted General had been working with Mishoal all along. _"You traitor! I'll have you melted down for this!" _Metal Sonic snarled, the glow from his eyes reaching insane proportions.

_"Silence you pathetic machine."_ Dark Oak told him, letting his left arm trail out. A second later, the sword he often used appeared, the hilt between his fingers. _"You are nothing more than a merger servant. I am one of Lord Krish' acolytes. You shall finally address me with respect."_ His words sent waves of near uncontrollable rage flowing through Metal Sonic's body, lightning bolts of energy sparking around his fists. He'd been played for a fool from the very beginning and what was worse was that he'd seen it, but had chosen to ignore it all, too transfixed on his lust for revenge.

"Wow. It's just a soap opera here." Sonic commented with another goofy smile.

"Focus here." Shadow snapped back at him. "There's a lot at stake."

"Like Shadow asked you, you really think that all this happened by chance? Bringing all seven Chaos Emeralds to this place, you, all of you have done exactly what I required." Mishoal asked, raising his left hand, a green glow highlight his fingers. The seven Emeralds on the ground vibrated violently for a moment before flying out of their places and up to him, flying around him like in orbit. "I can not thank you enough."

_"We didn't have theresources necessary to collect the Emeralds ourselves, had we not been up against overwhelming odds; I would have done it myself."_ Dark Oak explained._ "But you proved most helpful in bringing them here for us and luring the enemies of our master to this planet."_ It took a full moment for that to click in Shadow's mind.

"The Black Arms!" The Black and red hedgehog began in surprise. "You wanted them here."

_"What for?"_ Metal Sonic asked._ "What could you possibly have against them?"_

"In Ancient times, The Black Arms Sect of the Fesionian army confronted our Master and two of their best scientists destroyed his body, but thankfully died in the process. Our lord has been desiring retribution for eons now. We thought it fitting to have them here at the scene of his rebirth." Mishoal replied, catching the blue emerald out of mid air to study it's surface.

_"Rebirth?"_ Metal Sonic repeated.

"They intend to use the Chaos Emeralds to remake Krish' physical form." Shadow stated, lowering his arms to his eyes, his eyes set hard forward. "This is what it's all been about, all of this, right from the moment you were rebuilt."

_"And you made it easy."_ Dark Oak added.

"Gee Metal, you built this guy, can't you just order him to shut down or something?" Sonic asked, giving his metallic counterpart a side glance.

_"He can't."_ Dark Oak replied, the single orb like eye in the middle of his head glowing bright green. _"He may have built the metallic shell you see before you, but the real me…that is something he didn't install."_

_"You aren't the General I made."_ Metal Sonic stated, realisation flooding into his eyes.

_"The Dark Oak you made never activated. I carved his mechanical insides out and installed myself instead."_ The being posing as Metal Sonic's first general replied._ "I was simply using the form as a disguise. Not that I haven't enjoyed the masquerade. This form has a certain poetry to it."_ He held his arm up to study the metal fingers, as if intrigued by it.

The being posing as Metal Sonic's first general replied. He held his arm up to study the metal fingers, as if intrigued by it. 

_"You'll pay for this, both of you!"_ The robotic hedgehog snarled, before leaping towards them, utter rage and murderous intent in his eyes.

"I remade you, and I can just as easily re-unmake you!" Mishoal declared, his eyes suddenly filling with an intense green glow. Suddenly, some invisible force grabbed Metal Sonic in mid air, engulfing his body and wrapping around him like a python. The more he struggled, the more it squeezed around him. "Care to do the honours?" The ancient Echidna asked Dark Oak, who simply floated over, sword in hand. Silently he raised his weapon and before either Shadow or Sonic could do a thing, he sliced Metal Sonic across the chest.

Silence endured for seconds and nothing happened. A moment later, Mishoal released his grip and left the robotic hedgehog fall. With a loud thud he collapsed to the ground on his back, showing a deep cut sliced right through his armour. Dark Oak had nearly severed his top half form his legs. Only a few thick clusters of wires, cables and what armour remained at the back was holding him together. His eyes had gone out completely only a black void in his visor.

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

Mishoal…alive! Dark Oak really Krish's agent! This is nuts, but that's the least of Sonic's problems now as the revival of an evil eons in the making begins. Darkness falls next time on Sonic X; Rise of the Dark God part 1: Don't miss it!


	53. Episode 27

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

Episode 27: Rise of the Dark God part 1

* * *

"It's certainly quiet all of a sudden." Chris stated about a minute after the bombardment of the Egg Fleet on their Egg Shield stopped. Okida couldn't have agreed more. A second ago Eggman had them right where he wanted them, and suddenly he called off the attack. From the cockpit of the Spider Mech, the Major gazed up at the giant Whale Shark Flagship above them. Just what was going on up there? 

"Hey, I've got an incoming message from Eggman's flagship." Chuck announced, sounding utterly surprised.

"Incoming message?" Tails repeated, looking confused himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he opened a communications link and a holographic message appeared before them. Instead of finding Eggman's face sneering down at them, standing there instead was Rouge.

"This is acting Admiral Rouge of the Whale Shark flagship." She stated, saluting them. Everyone the bridge, including Cosmo and Jalios were left standing there with open mouths. "Knuckles and I have now have complete control of the ship, and as such; control of the Egg Fleet itself." She turned to the Doctor sitting behind her. He was slumped in his throne with an utterly defeated look on his face. Knuckles was standing beside him, grinding one fist with the palm of another hand suggestively, fixing the Doctor with a glare that could have frozen water. "Don't I Eggy?" I asked, rubbing the top of his bald head. Sighing out load; Eggman nodded weakly.

"I surrender." He muttered, the ends of his moustache dropping as if waterlogged.

"Well this is sudden." Amy stated looked confused at this sudden turn of events.

"Just don't let the 'admiral' status go to your head." Topaz told her with flat eyes.

"Oh you know me." Rouge replied with a short grin that unnerved a few of them.

The President had just finished talks with the commander of the Black Arms and a permanent cease fire had been called on both sides. The Black Arms had been victims of a vicious ploy and G.U.N had simply been defending their territory, so while reconciliation had been a little difficult it had not been impossible. The two fleets slowly moved together until they merged into one whole, making one giant force in the sky.

"Message from the Blue Typhoon sir." Someone announced and the President was handed a piece of paper. It told him that they had control of the Egg Fleet and Doctor Eggman in custody. A short smile spread over his face. There only thing left to wrap up now was Metal Sonic.

"My fleet will investigate that flash of light from earlier." Rikoye announced over the com system. A short while ago, both fleets had observed a giant pillar of white light lance up from the ground some distance away. According to registers, the energy level was off the scale. There was only one thing that could cause that and that thing was all seven Chaos Emeralds and since Metal X and Metal Sonic himself was after them, there might be some connection. The President nodded in agreement.

"We'll accompany you. Metal Sonic is just a big threat to us as he is to you."

* * *

- 

"Get back here!" Shadow yelled, sliding forward with a fist held back, the furious embers of a Chaos Spear attack burning between his fingers. The door to the rest of the underground complex opened up to allow Mishoal and the Seven Emeralds he had through. Dark Oak, acting as the ancient Echidna's bodyguard smashed a punch into Shadow's stomach, forcing the black hedgehog to back off.

"The Master wants you here at his rebirth so don't interfere." Mishoal stated over his shoulder, a sadistic gleam in his green eyes.

"It's an honour for you." Dark Oak added, holding the tip of his sword at Shadow's throat. _"Few will be privileged enough to lay eyes on the divine form of the Master before they die. You have been chosen to be present at his birth."_

Dark Oak added, holding the tip of his sword at Shadow's throat. 

"Thanks but no thanks!" Sonic stated; seeping forward in a spin attack aimed directly at the last Metal X general. Dark Oak slid to the side avoiding the attack, before batting the hedgehog away with the hilt of his blade. With both Hedgehog's down, the general joined his comrade beyond the door. There was a sudden loud shunting noise before the doors closed and a lift began to descend; taking them further and further down towards the tools they needed to bring about what might very well be the end of the world.

Shadow somersaulted back to this feet and swung several kicks, trying to bash the door open to head after them, but the metal it was made out refused to budge. Black Arm technology was extremely advanced and not even the skills of the Ultimate life-form would compromise it.

Sonic pushed himself up, dusting himself off. Had everything been of their design he wondered? Metal Sonic revival? The fights on Mars? The Negative Chaos Emeralds? The war between G.U.N and the Black Arms? If so then all of them had done exactly what they wanted. They had delivered all Seven Chaos Emeralds right to their waiting hands. Dark Oak and Mishoal had played them all for a punch of puppets.

"Think he'll be alright?" The blue hedgehog asked, looking over the form of Metal Sonic that was lying on the floor, a large slash carved into his armour that nearly cleaved all the way through. The nano-bots that usually healed all his wounds didn't seem to be working now. Perhaps they couldn't make repairs of this magnitude.

"Forget about him." Shadow stated, backing away from the door before him and raising his arms. "Right now we've got more important things to worry about." Sonic took another glance down at the robotic hedgehog. This metal look alike had been one of his greatest enemies and rivals and once even a good friend. Sonic knew now that his murderous need for revenge had been Mishoal's doing. They had opened up his brain and shoved a load of poison inside. Metal Sonic was just as much a victim of this as the rest of them.

A chaos spear attack launched forward from Shadow's hand and after a few moments, the doors outwards with a load groaning sound before falling down towards him. The lift had returned to their level by now and was sitting in their waiting for them. Shadow quickly stepped inside, followed quickly by Sonic. Along one of the walls was a row of buttons that probably showed what floors there were available for this elevator.

"Just our luck." Sonic remarked flatly, seeing all the buttons were written in cryptic runes, the written language of the Fesonian Black Arms which neither of them could understand. "Catch a tiger by the…" The blue hedgehog began, jabbing a finger at curved buttons randomly before Shadow slapped his hand away, preventing them from possibly hurtling down an elevator shaft to their doom.

Turning his almost machine like logic onto the dials, Shadow began trying to understand the number sequences. He paused, even if he was able to understand this language there was no way to know which floor Dark Oak and Mishoal had gotten off on so this would prove a little futile.

"What we need is a translator." Sonic remarked, leaning on the side of a wall. Without his knowledge, he'd put his hand against one of the pads The Black arms used to access their technology. A sudden red light lanced down from the ceiling and seemed to encircle his head for a minute, leaving the blue hedgehog looked stunned and confused before it disappeared again. "Woah tingly." He added, staggering backwards a single pace.

"Language trace completed. Awaiting instructions." A voice stated from the panel and in Sonic's accent too. "Please state destination."

"You and your dumb luck." Shadow muttered to Sonic who was still looking around in a daze. Quickly the black and red hedgehog went over to the panel. "What was the previous floor you returned from?" The lift's computer, if that was what it was, remained silent for a moment as if processing the request. Usually this advanced technology was quicker than this, but they supposed after being trapped underground for so many years it was bound to lag a little behind the times.

"Floor 56, experimental research laboratories." It replied finally. "Do you wish to go this floor?"

"YES!" Sonic and shadow Said at the same time and an instant later another pair of doors slammed shut behind them, sealing them in. There was a sudden surge and the lift began descending at such a fast rate, both hedgehog's were flung to the ceiling and pinned there by the air rushing up to meet them. The trip only lasted a few seconds and came to a stop as quickly as it started and once it had; Sonic and Shadow crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

Sonic looked up, tears being to form in the edges of his eyes before he muttered…

"Ow…"

Shadow picked himself up just in time to watch the doors open to present them with a long dark corridor leading off in one direction.

"Well…that was fun." He remarked flatly, rising to his feet and walking out into the corridor itself.

"Nah not really." Sonic replied dusting himself off before joining the black hedgehog. "I've been on roller coasters with more kick than that." Shadow shot him a side glance, before shaking his head and walking on. The corridor went on for a good long while, doors leading to separate rooms on either side lined the walls. Scattered around were the skeletal remains of Fesonians, reptilian like humanoids lying there where they had fallen eons ago. "I can't believe all this was buried below Station Square all along." Sonic added, stepping over the curved skull of a Black Arm who had died face down on the floor.

"This may have been a Black Arm outpost eons ago." Shadow mused out load keeping his eyes locked straight ahead of him in case Dark Oak was waiting for them behind a corner. "Perhaps it got buried by landslide and the city was built on top of it." Sonic was quiet for a second, considering the possibility.

"These guys don't look like they bit the big one like that." He said eventually. Shadow cast a glance down at the bodies they were stepping over. Sonic was right, there was signs that these aliens had died in some sort of struggle.

Something caught Sonic's attention and he pierced through one of the doors they were padding to see another door leading into a separate corridor. Dust lay disturbed were the door had fallen inwards. This damage had been done recently.

"Shadow wait, they went this way." He said calling the black hedgehog over before rushing to examine the door himself.

The corridor beyond curved downwards almost in a spiral and went on for some distance. The dust on the floor was disturbed where someone had left unmistakeable foot prints. Shadow was suddenly very suspicious. Both Dark Oak and Mishoal could float. They didn't need to walk, so why where they deliberately leaving a trail for them to follow? Unless of course they were walking into some sort of trap.

Before Shadow could advise caution, Sonic bolted on ahead disappearing out of sight. The black and red hedgehog shook his head before sliding on after him. The corridor twisted down and down and once Shadow had caught up with Sonic, they must have travelled a good hundred meters into the Earth. The way Fesonians, or perhaps just the Black Arms sect constructed their dwellings was daunting. It made so sense to have this kind corridor, at least not on Earth.

"Hey what gives? It's a dead end!" Sonic almost yelled when they came to an abrupt stop, a large wall blocking their way. The bones of a Black Arm lay slumped against it, it's arms stretched up towards a small metal panel on the wall opposite. This had to be some sort of door and this alien had died trying to open it. Sonic went to press it before Shadow snatched his hand away.

"We don't know what that does." He told him.

"It looks like it opens the door." Sonic replied flatly.

"But do you know that for sure?"

"Look they must have gone this way." The blue hedgehog pointed toward the floor, showing more foot prints leading on. "We'll never know unless we try." Before Shadow could say anything else, Sonic pressed his hand against the metal panel. For a brief moment nothing happened and then the wall opened up like a mouth ready to swallow them, neither of them could see an inch in front of their face. "See?" Sonic asked smugly. Shadow simply shot him a glare.

"Come on, let's get going before…" As both of them set a foot in the darkness however, they both slipped on some wet substance on the ground and ended up plunging down into the darkness as the floor before them had long since collapsed.

Back at the entrance to the compound, Metal Sonic lay quiet and undisturbed, his black visor completely empty. Suddenly, parts of his chest plate began wriggling and twisting, becoming liquid like. Moving slowly, this silvery paste like substance moved over the large wound forming something of a scab. After a few minute, the healing process was complete and the scar Dark Oak had given him was gone.

Then just as suddenly the fingers on the robotic hedgehog's left hand began twitching, before clenching together in a fist. With a sudden flare, the red eyes came back to life, burning with anger so intense it could burn though steel.

* * *

- 

At it's height, the Echidna civilisation had ruled most of Mobius. Lesser races were quickly being converted to the worship of the one god and all they needed to solidify their grip was the Chaos Emeralds. With those in the service of their lord, nothing could stop his message from being spread. Of course, when they had tried to seize them however; they provoked a vicious attack by the Emerald's guardian. A demon made from water crashed down on top of their capitol, ripping it to pieces. Mishoal the high priest of the Krish Temple had been attempting to flee after one last service to their god but had never gotten out in time. Perfect Chaos, the Echidna god of destruction, brought the entire Cathedral down on top of him. Tons of rubble crushed his body and pinned him down, literally every bone in his body broken, bleeding from torn skin and burst muscles but still painfully alive. There he would have perished a slow and agonising death, had his master not deemed his worthy of restoration.

By divine intervention, he was spared, recovered from the rubble and reborn as the herald for the master's return to the mortal plane. It was the greatest honour imaginable and Krish had given him enough power to carry it out. Also later on, a travelling companion to assist him in his task.

Dark Oak, a creature not of this or either world but from Nexus, the world in which their master currently resided. Metal Sonic had unerring provided him with a disguise while creating his Metal X generals. After forging the shell of his first commander, Dark Oak quickly seized the robot, tore out it's insides and installed himself instead. There he waited, standing at Metal Sonic's right hand side, for the opportunity to strike and steal the Chaos Emeralds either he or Sonic himself gathered, for they were necessary for their master's revival. And now, they had all seven.

The lower levels of the ancient tunnels left by the Fesonians eons ago on Earth were nearly flooded with a thick green slime. This was not usual, even for their technology. Clearly they were getting closer to their goal. Barring their way was a large metal door. Ancient scorch marks were weapons fire had been exchanged was scrawled across it's rusted surface, the remains of ancestral Black Arms lay scattered around. Dark Oak pressed his metal hand against a panel on the side of the door. With a rusty screeching, the metal sheets slowly pulled themselves aside. A deluge of slime poured out, a thick green puss that silently oozed out towards them over the floor. It smelt like something someone had coughed up. Clearly this chamber had not been opened for centuries.

In the chamber beyond was what they had travelled down here to find and what they had waited so long to use. Their master knew both Mobius and Earth would merge one day to become one world. Only then could the gate be opened fully and so they waited, for thousands of years they waited until the dimension properties were right. All the while, their master busied himself creating a temporary vessel for use until, to aid them physically.

Shadow the Hedgehog was the product of those efforts and had Sonic and his friends not gotten in the way, their master would be right here beside them now. The chamber itself was long and had an incredible high arched ceiling. A long strip of ground amongst the ooze ran before them, all the way up towards the last thing they needed.

The gate stood before them. This was the place were the essence of Krish Kra Pal had been banished and his body destroyed. A colossal arch, curved in a circle towering above. The basic platform was a very long rectangular that began where they stood and ended with the ring. Right next to the gateway itself was a round pedestal with a short flight of metal stairs leading up to it. The rest of the chair had long since collapsed under the encroaching slime that oozed from the sides of the ring. A large plate had been put there to stop most of it, but around the edges, a thick green slime was slowly creeping in which over centuries had been adding up to a small lake around them. The plate stood directly in between two worlds; this fused dimension and the realm known as Nexus. Dark Oak's home world.

_"__You do realize what an honour you have been chosen for?"_ The general asked as the two of them made their way forwards. Mishoal only remained silent. _"Serving as the herald for the lord is glorious enough for any creature, but you…you have been chosen to be the new body."_ The general folded his arms as he arrived at the side of a short pedestal. These where controls for the gate. No one had activated those eons._ "No one in this universe of any other could possibly be so honoured."_ Without looking back, the ancient Echidna climbed the steps and stood on the platform facing the closed gate. Gesturing with his left hand, the seven Chaos Emeralds flew out to former a wide circle around him and then they began orbiting, going around and around his body like planets around a sun. The slime below him shone different colours as the emeralds shot overhead. Everything was now in place and there was only one thing left to do.

"Why keep god waiting?" The ancient Echidna asked with a thick smile, his eyes alight with sadistic glee.

_"Why indeed." _Dark Oak replied, before running his metallic fingers over the age old controls activating technology long since buried.

* * *

- 

With a soft plop, Shadow forged his head above the surface of the slime and shook his head to dislodge the disgusting stuff from his quills. While it had cushioned their landing so they broke nothing, landing the foul smelling stuff sent shivers of disgust up the black hedgehog's spine,.

"Oh where are we?" Shadow asked, opening on eye and rubbing the side of his head. The blue hedgehog pulled himself out of the disgusting stuff and was standing on a small rocky outcrop just above.

"Welcome to the house of slime…" Sonic replied, feigning a scary movie type voice and gesturing to the chamber around them. His statement was more than adapt. As their eyes grew more adjusting the dim light, they could see that nearly everything was coated in a thick, green solution. Strands of it were dripping from the ceiling above, landing with a loud splat on the rocky floor.

"It's disgusting!" Shadow proclaimed, pulling himself up onto the ledge.

"I've seen worse served in some fast food chains." Sonic replied, staring down a long tunnel that trailed out of the cavern. The floor was covered in the slime, trailing down like a river to their present location before being drawn down a hole in the cavern wall opposite.

"Think it's stagnant water?" The black hedgehog asked, brushing a few last strands off himself.

"Trust me dude, if it was water…I'd know." Sonic added flatly before standing up. Just by touching something Sonic could tell if it was water or not…the fur on the back of his neck would stand up. This stuff, while it sent shivers down his spine at the very sight of it, it clearly had nothing to do with H2O.

"They came down here. I can sense a residue of Chaos energy." Shadow suddenly stated, his red eyes alight with sudden awareness. "That way." He added, pointing off down the tunnel.

"Oh well that's just fine for them. They can float. We can't, and I don't know about you but I am **not** swimming in that stuff."

Shadow sighed, before pushing him in with a simple pat on the shoulder. The blue hedgehog landed in the slime with a metallic splat.

After enduring some choice words, Shadow forced Sonic to wade through the slime down the tunnel. The level was short enough for him to stand but he was still grumbling under his breath as the two of them slowly trudged their way through the darkness. Occasionally they passed metal doorways leading into other parts of the compound but had to leave those, as the energy trail Shadow was detecting kept going on down the tunnel.

"Just where were you?" Sonic asked at one time as they rounded a corner through the tunnels, the level of slime around them beginning to lower so it dragged around their knees instead of their waists. Shadow got him a glance. "We had to deal with the entire Metal X army on our own." The blue hedgehog continued. "I beat three of their generals all by myself and faced off against the Behemoth. You and the others we lost on Mars had just disappeared."

"We had more important things to deal with." The black hedgehog replied. Sonic looked a little confused.

"More important?" He repeated with a stunned look on his face. "What could possibly be…"

"Well let's see…." Shadow began flatly, cutting him off before he launched into another long winded speech. "Discovering the truth about who orchestrated all of this and trying to stop the return of a being that could destroy the world. You know Sonic, you're right…what trivial matters I concerned myself with."

"Gee Shadow, if I didn't know any better I'd swear you were being sarcastic." The blue hedgehog remarked with levelled eyes.

The black and red hedgehog remained silent for a while. He was thinking back to the time he had first encountered Krish. It was when they had travelled back to the Mobius past only to witness the destruction of the Echidna Empire. Mishoal, or at least the younger version, had trapped him inside a chamber with the invisible voice that tried to take over Shadow's mind. They escaped from that, but later on when he confronted the Foundation organisation for the first time. The foundation had kid napped him and forced him to go along with a ceremony that transferred Krish' mind from its host into him.

Shadow shivered involuntary. The memory of that sickening event still haunted him.

This time however, Krish wasn't after the hedgehog's body. It wanted its original one back and with the seven Chaos emeralds in the grasp of its servant, it could achieve that.

"Nice fashion statement." Sonic remarked with a short smile, gesturing to Shadow's arm. The black and red hedgehog glanced down to see the ring attacked to his wrist, the one with the blue strap on it. The gift from Prof. Gerald, the legacy of the Robotnik Family. Shadow still wasn't sure what it was supposed to do, but when he and Sonic had merged into Nazo a few minutes ago, some thing seemed to make the union fluid and out of conflict. Had this ring done that? Did it help them merge more completely? If it did, then how had Prof. Gerald reasoned out that they would need something like this? It seemed inconceivable that he knew Sonic and Shadow would merge into one at some point. Shadow glanced at Sonic, who was still trying to soak his sneakers in the slime.

The black and red hedgehog decided it was best not to tell him that they were, in some weird way, related. His own pride forbade it.

Eventually the tunnel ended and Sonic could finally climb out of the goo and onto solid ground.

"Do you know how long this is going to take to get out of my quills?" He asked, running his fingers through the fused spines, dragging large lumps of green slime with them. Shadow ignored him; Sonic put far too much value on ones appearance anyway. Besides, they had more important things to worry about than personal hygiene right now. They had emerged into a large cavern with flat metal floor, graved lines running through it before lancing up the side of a wall nearby. On the far side was a door, rusted nearly completely and closed shut.

"They where here." Shadow stated, narrowing his eyes at the door. The energy trail continued on beyond it and it had grown sufficiently stronger than before.

"Behind there?" Sonic asked as if reading his thoughts. Shadow nodded in confirmation. The blue hedgehog smiled, before he started spinning around on one point. He remained in that spot for a second before racing forward and smashing a spin attack directly into the door. The metal, weakened by years of decay caved inwards before collapsing inwards with a deafening thud.

What lay beyond both horrified them both.

* * *

- 

Flip card 1:

Name: Dark Oak

Description: A being from the world of Nexus, disguised as one of Metal Sonic's generals.


	54. Episode 27, part 2

Flip Card 1:

Name: Dark Oak mrk2

Description: The Metal X general's true form.

* * *

- 

"When we've dealt with Metal Sonic, you Doctor Eggman are going to stand trail for war crimes, crimes against humanity, mobians, Fesonians and a whole list of offensives I don't have time to recite." The President told the good Doctor over a communications link with the Whale Shark. The three fleets; G.U.N, Black Arm and Eggman Empire had merged into one after Rouge and Knuckles had overtaken Eggman's command centre and 'secured' his cooperation. The news of a cease fire had already reached the civilians below and the random looting and panic was starting to slow down to a crawl. People were still scared and prone to irrational outbursts, but with a combined armada of space ships floating above they kept it mostly to themselves.

"No prison can hold me." Eggman muttered angrily after the President had closed his link. "I'll rule this world yet."

"Don't make me come over there!" Amy told him over the constant link Rouge and Tails had established between the Whale Shark and the Blue Typhoon. The pink hedgehog was testing the weight of her hammer in her hands and had a sadistic twist to her face.

There was nothing Knuckles would like more at this present moment then to rip the Master Emerald out of the confines of Eggman's power core and return it to where it belonged. But since it was keeping this ship in the air he would have to put it off. Besides, Rouge looked a little too found of her few found fleet to be deprived of her flag ship. Admiral Rouge, the very notion of Rouge the bat in charge of that much fire power caused the Echidna to shudder. She could hold the world to ransom until they handed over every priceless gem in their vaults.

"According to the computer, that flash of light came from the ruins of Station Square." Chuck announced on the bridge of the Blue Typhoon. "The Black Arms and G.U.N are on their way there now." Tails nodded in reply.

"Then that's where we're going." He replied. "Got that Rouge?"

"We're right behind you." The she bat stated with a salute before turning to Doctor Eggman. "Come on Eggy, be a good boy." The doctor grumbled loudly using choice language, before gesturing to his two robots to comply. Once the orders were given from the flagship, the second Egg Fleet slowly started moving out after the leaving G.U.N and Black Arm ships.

Cosmo stood on the bridge with the others, but was disinterested in the deploying fleet. She was staring out the window off towards the horizon. Something was wrong. There was something, odd in the air, she could almost taste it. Something that caused her a headache that could not go away until she found out what the source of it was.

Some…force was waiting, preparing for some…but what? Then her questions were answered as the full force of the vision struck her hard.

Cosmo staggered backwards, horror slowly creeping onto her face. Her sea blue eyes alight with more fear than was possible. Tails noticed her expression and quickly descended from the pilot's seat to her side. The seer was standing by the window looking out of the window off towards the horizon. Sweat was running down her forehead, her lips trembling in fear.

"Cosmo what's wrong." Tails asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. The green haired seer remained as stationary as ever, her entire body shaking in abject terror. The beginnings of tears of fear were welling up in the edges of her eyes. "Cosmo?"

"He's coming." She muttered. Tails leant closer.

"Who's coming?" Cosmo stepped away from the windows, looking for afraid than anyone could possibly be.

"I can see him, I can actually see him!" She almost screamed, gaining everyone's attention. "It's horrible Tails, the darkness, a never ending sea of hatred boiling to a pitch with him right in the middle. His power…oh his power, it has no limits. It doesn't end and he's on his way. I can see him!"

"Who? Who is coming?" Tails asked, trying to help her. Cosmo collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with her?" Jalios asked, bending down to examine the seer a little closer. Cosmo locked her eyes onto the Black Arm dissident.

"He's like you!" She told her. "He was born from you, but he hates you, you and your kind. Only one thought passes through his dark mind concerning those of Black Arm." She swallowed hard. "Extermination." Jailos blinked, as if in surprise. For the longest time, the Black Arms had told her children stories of a source of evil that would hunt their sect mercilessly, it's hatred for them unmatched. This evil had a name….

"Who is it?" Tails asked. She was starting to scare him now. But overwhelming urges to help her was quelling his fear. Cosmo's eyes widened.

"I know his name!" The seer announced. "Kri…Kris…Krish!" She managed finally. Jailos gasped out load and staggered backwards, her flaxen yellow eyes wide in utter astonishment.

"Krish?" Knuckles demanded over the com link, nearly shoving Rouge aside to get a full view in a screen. He was well aware of that name. The ruins on Angel Island were littered with stone statues of their god. It was in his name the Echidna civilisation had attacked the Chaos shrine and provoked Perfect Chaos into destroying them.

"You must be mistaken." Jailos stated, shaking her head. "Krish is nothing more than a story told to frighten fledglings."

"He is real, and alive. He's come, I can see him. He is the darkness!" Cosmo insisted. Through the eye of the seer she could see the future as clear as day, she could see him rising above all. The entire galaxy was trembling in fear in his shadow.

* * *

- 

_"Finally."_ Dark Oak began without turning his back as the two of them stepped through the entrance. The chamber they had entered was long and round, with a single stone platform lancing directly down the centre to the far end. Dark Oak was standing over an outcrop of equipment, pressing buttons every now and then. _"Your progress was beginning to concern me, I though you'd be here sooner."_

"So you did want us to follow you?" Shadow stated, his red eyes glaring.

_"Of course we did."_ The general replied flatly still pouring over his work. _"It's poetically fitting to have the worlds' two greatest defenders present at the birth of the being that will bring about it's destruction."_

"Man you guys are one heck of a broken record." Sonic sighed, getting a little tired of all their talk. "Where's you buddy?"

_"If you mean the High priest…"_ Dark Oak began, looking back over his shoulder._ "He's right in front of you."_ The general stepped aside to reveal the gate before him.

Both hedgehog's staggered backwards in horror. Growing out of the slime was thick veins and roots like those on a plant, all converging at once point above the ground, twisting together at some sort of pod. Inside which, they could see through a transparent membrane was Mishoal. The ancient Echidna was naked and curved around in a ball like a newborn infant. His eyes were closed as he hung there inside that cocoon. Already he had started a metamorphosis. His body was longer and taller, his tail growing longer and far more muscular, bony spikes were beginning to grow out of his shoulders and along the outside of his arms.

"That is, without a doubt, the single most disgusting thing I have ever seen." Sonic stated suddenly looking green. Shadow narrowed his eyes, recognising the form Mishoal was slowing changing into. It was the image of Kirsh Kra Pal. All the statues of the Echidna's civilisation had portrayed him as a giant demon with horns, spikes and a thick tail. Mishoal had offered up his own physical presence in this dimension to allow Krish to use it as his own, the power o the seven chaos emeralds embedded in the wines warping his body into a copy of….whatever creature Krish had been. These two beings were without a doubt the personification of the word…fanatic.

"What the heck is all this?" Sonic asked, gesturing to the warped chaos around them, slowly creeping into this world through the cracks in the metallic plate, the strange plants growing out of the slime.

_"Presently you are standing in the crashed remains of a space station, the Armageddon."_ Dark Oak explained. _"A Black Arm battle station to be precise, a place were a great deal of their military research was conducted. During the source of their experiments, they came across this…"_ The general gestured to the closed ring behind them._ "They were trying to create a way to cross great distances of space very quickly. To that end they created the gate. But instead of bending the space of their universe to their design, it opened up a doorway to Nexus."_

"Nexus?" Shadow asked.

_"Nexus is the name of a reality quite different from yours."_ The general went on._ "It was there that the Black Arms' sect of the Fesonian Confederacy Army and the God of the Sword and the God of the Shield sent the Master after destroying his physical form."_

"We keep hearing the 'god of the sword and shield.' thing." Sonic began. "Just who or what the heck is that?"

_"You just passed them."_ Dark Oak replied, before turning to his work. Sonic and Shadow cast a glance over their shoulders and saw lying not too far away the bodies of two Fesonians, both of them in rusted armour of a strange design, the metal completely rusted. One of them had the remains of a shield attached to one arm and the other was hilted to the rusted hilt of an ancient sword. Their skeletons had almost been consumed by the slime, which by now was inching over their feet.

"Those guys?" Sonic asked, looking a little confused. "They beat Krish?"

_"They destroyed his physical presence and exiled his essence, yes."_ Dark Oak stated stilling working._ "They were two of the greatest Black Arm scientists to ever grace the universe with their intellect."_ The general's tone was heavily sarcastic._ "The sword and shield they used were actually pieces of equipment that dissolved molecular matter. These they turned on the master and sealed him inside Nexus. During the struggle however, a great deal of damage was dealt to this station. It drifted from its programmed orbit and was soon brought down by the gravity from this planet. It crashed here and the survivors, having to venture out to savage what they could from their advanced technology were quickly regarded as gods by the primitive humans. Most past and present religions on Earth were started by the interaction between the ancestral Black Arms and primitive man._

_Over the centuries, soil began piling on-top of the station, burying it under the ground. Years later, the city of Station Square was built on top of it."_ Shadow walked over and studied the bodies. Instead of being simple weapons, this sword and this shield were actually pieces of laboratory equipment just as Dark Oak claimed. The shape had probably been interpreted by early humans as a sword and shield. Even the armour they wore was probably a protective suit to help them work in hostile lab conditions. Their bones had been broken, snapped in half some of them. One had had his jaw ripped off. Whatever had happened here, neither of these guys had died from natural causes. _"Over time the Master reached out to this world to prepare it for his return. We are the heralds of that glorious moment. Even as we speak; Mishoal's physical presence is being remade into new body of the Master."_

"And what happens to him?" Sonic asked.

"His essence, his soul if you will, quite literally becomes one with the lord. It's the greatest honour imaginable."

"You dudes are out of your minds!" The blue hedgehog declared. Dark Oak was silent for a moment, before he started chuckling. After a second that chuckle spread into a full fledged laugh. Pausing from his work, he let his arms trail outwards he laughed.

"Oh how I'll enjoy watching your planet burn."

"Enough talk!" Shadow snapped, shooting around and firing two Chaos spear attack straight at Dark Oak. The general about faced and held out his hand, forming a mirror like energy shield around his body. The golden bolts simply bounced back and struck Shadow across the chest, sending him flying backwards onto the floor smoke trailing from his burnt fur.

Sonic raised his hands fired a Sonic wind attack. The result was the same, Dark Oak's shield simply reflected the attack right back at him. The blue hedgehog however was slightly more prepared than Shadow had been and managed to dodge it.

_"__You've lost. Accept it and then you can die knowing you tried at least!"_ With that, the last general slammed his hand down on the console behind him, finishing his work. There was a sudden load groaning sound, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. Shadow picked himself up and watched in awe as the metal gate behind Dark Oak began to open. As the metal sheet covering the gate itself began to pull itself aside, a deluge of slime began to pour out, engulfing the roots growing there and nearly swallowing the pod with the transforming Mishoal inside it.

For the first time Shadow beheld Nexus. Dark Oak was right; it was quite different from this world. The sky appeared to be lime green and had yellow clouds. The ground was coated in the slime that was leaking into their world, a never ending sea of the stuff.

Suddenly, it happened. Shadow couldn't see him, but the sense of his presence was overwhelming. Sonic could feel it as well. Shadow looked up to see a transparent outline of some colossal shape move out from the gate; a pair of red eyes locked themselves onto the two hedgehogs. Silently, it moved through the air and then seemed to fade away to nothing as soon as it reached the pod, as if sucked into the thing. Once this had been completed, the gate locked itself again, slamming hard shut.

"_Refreshing as it was to see my home again, the gate didn't need to be open for any longer than that. A gateway can not be open indefinitely, that would destroy both worlds." _Dark Oak explained with glee._ "Now the master is here with us and before too long, he shall walk again!"_

There was a sudden rumbling as the ground shook violently before the wall to the left was violently forced open and leaping out of the darkness, talons spread with glowing red eyes was Metal Sonic. Landing on the ground with a loud thud, he turned, the fire of hell burning inside him before firing several energy blasts without any warning straight at Dark Oak. His general simply laughed, before lifting a hand reforming the invisible shield around him. All of the attacks simply seemed to get swallowed up by the air and come to no effect.

_"__Traitor!"_ The robotic hedgehog proclaimed._ "Show me who you really are! Who hides behind that metal armour?" _

_"You wish to see me as I truly am?"_ Dark Oak asked, sound a little surprised. Metal Sonic nodded once._ "Very well then…"_ Slowly the last of the Metal X generals raised his arms as if in celebration, his back to the growing, pulsating mass that now covered the closed gate behind him._ "The Serves are the Seven Chaos."_ He began, reciting the chant used by the ancient Echidna's to control Chaos energy. The seven emeralds embedded in the stuff began glowing brightly in response and as they did, the growth rat of the roots and tentacles began to accelerate.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to look at earth worms in quite the same way anymore." Sonic stated as the worm like roots began spreading further and further, almost covering the roof overhead. The pod they could see Mishoal's form gestated was suddenly consumed by flow like petals that rose upwards, enclosing it in a bud.

Dark Oak threw his arms up higher and started laughing.

All of them watched in mute horror as the light behind him intensified ten fold, shafts of purest white piercing themselves through the General's body. The organic matter kept growing, spreading up the walls and over the floor, growing like the roots on planets, spreading outwards, growing larger and branching off in all directions.

Cracks began running over the General's armour as if in response, spreading first over his arms, then legs before finally covering his entire body. The pulsating thudding from behind grew strong and stronger, as if the entire chamber was resonating with the sound.

Pieces of the general began flaking off, a few fingers, half of the horns on the top of his head, his shoulder pads. He clenched his fist high in the air, metallic fingers crumbled away from him, before brought them close to him in one swift motion, shattering most of his armour completely.

"Good god!" Shadow exclaimed in utter revolution backing away as the rest of the purple metal fell away, revealing Dark Oak, the true Dark Oak. A hideous pulsating organic mass that barely seemed to hold a humanoid shape, two long arms like tree branches lancing out either side. Its skin was a revolting green and covered in thick veins. The head was the worse. It hadn't any eyes, only a giant mouth full of curved jagged teeth that sat like daggers between its horrid lips.

_"__So this is the real you!"_ Metal Sonic stated, jabbing as finger in his direction. The giant mouth up and the creature started laughing again. It was a horrible laugh that made Sonic's ears sting. The pulsating mass behind it began growing, inching its way over the floor towards them. When its creeping tentacles reached Dark Oak, they…quite literally came one. The legs of the General disappeared as his torso just seemed to twist impossibly and become part of the organic puss, rising upwards, the two feeding on one another; both of them growing in size getting bigger and bigger.

"Oh this can't be good." Sonic muttered as Dark oak's shadow began to fall over them.

The combined fleets had gotten to the outer edges of Station Square just in time to watch as the streets of the ruined city began collapsing one by one in dust. Ripping through the ground came multitudes of giant, octopus like tentacles, twisting up towards the sky. Entire buildings were torn down in seconds, roads ripped to pieces, giant slabs of rock and granite thrust so high into the sky they became dangerous incoming to the fleet.

"What is **that!**" Vector asked, staring out at the rising monstrosity. Chaotix, Fang included, had evacuated the city and now stood on the outskirts, watching at the place they once called home was finally destroyed, anything left of the city being swallowed, crushed and ground into rubble.

Tikal's eyes open wide in horror and quickly she cast a glance out towards the south west from the top of the Hexagon building. From here, she could see the sky begin to darken, like the onset of a savage storm.

"No…." She breathed, her entire body shaking in raw fear.

"It's hideous!" Amy exclaimed from the Blue Typhoon. Rising from the centre of the seething tentacles was a giant, snake like head. A pair of jagged horns shot out from the back, arching over the long neck. Its skin was a pale green and thick, dripping slime. A long lizard like frill ran down from the top of the head to the hump like bulk that served as the main body, a giant lump of flesh that hauled itself out of the ground. With it, two other heads rose giving a grand total of three. These heads were identical apart from a few colour differences, one of them blue with black stripes and the other yellow with red stripes. Their eyes were all glowing different colours. The first head had glowing green eyes, the second red eyes and the third blue eyes. In the centre forehead of the first head, embedded there in a tight circle were all seven Chaos Emeralds.

Shadow and Sonic, along with Metal Sonic in tow was thrown violently up into the air as tentacle wretched itself free of the earth, batting them away like flies into the side of a crumbled wall.

"Man that hurt!" Sonic yelled into the air, rising out of a pile of brick dust, shaking himself off, the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Shadow sat up, opening his eyes in time to see Dark Oak reach his full height. A colossal beast, towering over the city like a colossal statue, all three heads searching into the air. Despite the impressive display, Shadow knew all of this was for defence only. The real threat was the pod on the creature's back.

On top of the monster, growing there like a flower ready to open was a large bulb, its underside completed engulfed in vines it seemed and was pulsating like a beating heart. Inside this, Mishoal's body was being warped, remade and reborn. Whatever remained of the ancient Echidna was now gone for he was now the new vessel for his master, the Dark god Krish Kra Pal. Once that transformation was complete, their master would take physical form again and Shadow was already quite aware of the power he wielded.

"Behold me as I really am Metal Sonic." The General stated, one of his necks arching around so a pair of red eyes could glare right down at the robotic hedgehog who was prying himself out of the rubble. His voice was no longer restricted by a mechanical processor and still didn't sound human.

_"Just what are you!"_ Metal Sonic demanded, pushing a slab of wall off his legs before pushing himself to his feet.

"I am a being native to the realm in which the Master was banished eons ago. He found me, made me what I am through his divine power." The creature replied. "Eons ago he endowed me with the power that made me your strongest general and with the seven Chaos Emeralds both feeding me and restoring the lord's body, you haven't a snow balls chance." The beast laughed out load, all three jaws searching into the air.

_"I trusted you!" _Metal Sonic snarled, clenching his fists.

"Of course you did. I was unquestionably loyal." It laughed again, a taunting laughter that sent rage surging through Metal Sonic's body. "You didn't suspect me for a moment and before too long, I will aid in the re-birth of the being that will bring the end to this world and order to the rest of the universe!" All three heads reared backs and it started laughing again, the laugh reaching higher and higher into the heavens.

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

It's only a matter of time until Krish is revived in his original body! But to stop him, they have to get past the transformed Dark Oak first. There's a lot at stake now, the revival of Krish would be the end of everything. But can Metal Sonic put his vendetta against Sonic aside? Find out, next time on Sonic X: Rise of the Dark God, part 2: Don't miss it!

---

-That's right...I intend to have you on your seat edge all the way to the finale so I'm going to hit you with as many cliff hangers as I possibly can!-


	55. Episode 28

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO: LET'S GO!

Episode 28: Rise of the Dark God part: 2

* * *

- 

The President was left staring open mouthed.

"What on Earth is that?" He demanded of the bridge crew around him as the three heads of Dark Oak reared up into the screech, a desperate screech erupting from between three rows of dagger like teeth. The ruined buildings of Station Square collapsing around it.

Rikoye, commander of the Black arms was also at a lost to explain the sudden appearance of the triple headed creature, its trashing tentacles tearing up the ruined city on the horizon, knocking over entire buildings and ripping the asphalt off the street, all its mutable limbs trashing around like some bizarre parody of an octopus. Each long neck that reared up from the dust and dirt of the streets its back was a massive lump of flesh, a thick lay of scales hiding a bony ridge of a spin and a rib cage. Planted on its back was a round, egg like object enwrapped in the flesh and protected by three bony spikes than curved around it like a protective hand.

"All ahead stop." The President ordered and the G.U.N Fleet settled into a station position a safe distance away from the creature. Rikoye gave the same order and the Black Arm ships did the same. After being threatened with a punch from Knuckles, Eggman eventually related and then complied; the Egg Fleet slowing to a complete stop. The giant armada waited there, watching the beast from afar, waiting until they could be sure of the situation before making any intelligent judgement.

"Move it, get out of the way!" Sonic tried to call over, to warn them of the danger but they were too far out of ear shot. Dark Oak's central head rose up, all seven chaos emeralds glowing brightly on its forehead. Its eyes set hard against the fleet, it opened its mouth and suddenly lightning began sparking up its neck and into the space between its teeth. A second of blinding light later, an energy attack rocketed forward with a deafening sonic boom. Ships unlikely enough to get caught in its path were scorched into blackened ash that crumbled in the air before raining down towards the ground .The attack didn't differentiate between them, Black Arm, G.U.N or Eggman Empire. Those that got hit were instantly destroyed. The ships around them only receiving a powerful shockwave across the bow, tipping them violently to the side. Several of Eggman's battleship tipped to the side and rammed into Giant Wing nearly knocking the flying fortress out of the sky.

Rikoye quickly ordered the Black Arm mother ship to back away even further and quickly the rest of the ships belonging to their fleet did the same. The President was quick to copy the strategic retreat. Eggman was little slow however and more blasts ripped out from Dark Oak's two other mouths, tearing a sizable chunk out of his forces by the time he got them out of range.

"That's only one source of energy that could make something that powerful" Chuck announced, watching the ashes of the ships falling towards the ground like black snow. Tails nodded in agreement and quickly brought up a holographic projection of the creature. The Blue Typhoon got as close it dare so the sensors could get a better quality picture as soon as it came through, they saw the Seven Chaos emeralds embedded in the central head.

Cosmo however had her eyes locked only onto the egg on its back, her eyes filled with intense fear. Tails caught her expression and followed her gaze to the round object. As if he could sense it too, a feeling of utter despair and hopelessness came over him at the sight of it and he forced to look away, shivers sent up his spine.

"It's him isn't it?" The fox asked the seer, who looked up at him quickly, her face still bearing that terrified expression.

"Krish." Jailos began.

One of the beasts heads curved down in time to see a swirling vortex of blue energy come rocketing up towards him. The Sonic wind attack didn't even reach home, it simply got absorbing by some invisible shield covering the creature's whole body. As soon as the attack dissipated into nothing, Dark Oak curved a head around and fired a blast down towards the ground. Before it hit Sonic disappeared in blue blur, out running the explosion before ducking behind a derelict building to escape the fire that erupted across the street.

Shadow, skating along the side of a building, drew his arm back and fired his signature energy attack straight up at the creature. Again the blast did nothing and simply got absorbed by the shield. A tentacle went whipping around through the air and struck Shadow across the chest, sending the black and red hedgehog tumbling down through the air and onto the ground with a thud. Another root like tentacle coursed through the air preparing to crush Shadow underneath it. The second before it hit, Shadow's body disappeared in a green flash as Chaos Control took effect.

"Deploy the Dragons." Rikoye commanded and instantly large doors on the underside of the entire Black Arm fleet began to open. Dropping out like bats swinging upside down, the genetically created fighters spread their wings and took to flight, an entire swarm of them; spread out in a typical offensive formation.

Dark Oak raised another of his heads while the other two laughed. The jaws opened again and lightning danced sparking through the air, several neon blue bolts striking down dragons as they soured through the swarm. Like a multitude of insects they kept coming until they were within range. Screeching, they quickly formed up into several rows and began firing projectiles of their own; energy beams and sting like spines shot through the air, but all they seemed to do to the giant creature was irritate the tip of its nose.

"Nothing but insects." Dark Oak laughed, before raising a multitude of tentacles, striking down dozens of the flying creatures with just one blow, batting them out of the air like flies. Suddenly, a loud ringing shot out as the G.U.N fleet opened fire with an intense barrage of missiles and bullets. Eggman's own ships were quick to follow, red laser beams shooting out from several different ships all at once. The shield flew up again and all the attacks game to naught, not a single projectile piercing the protective barrier. The fire power of the entire armada came to absolutely no avail.

This time, when another of the heads rose up into view and opened its mouth preparing to fire an energy blast, the ships knew what was coming and bid a hasty retreat to what was considered out of range. The blast rang out and several of the battleships had a close call, but none of them were destroyed. It did however stop the bombardment and force the ships to pull back.

"I want Intel, now!" The President demanded. No one in the G.U.N intelligence division could explain what it was they were fighting.

"Hey big guy!" Dark Oak craned all three necks over to see Sonic standing on top of a ruined sky scrapper, balanced perfectly on the spire. "This is what you really look like? I think I preferred the metal thing you had going for a while; definitely more you." Limbs lanced up out of the ground and grabbed the foundations off the building. With one solid yank they tore the sky scrappers feet out from under it and as it fell down Sonic disappeared into a green flash of Chaos Control.

Emerging out of the warp in mid air, Sonic landed on the back of one of the Dragons. A good few of the were still swarming around, trying to hit the giant creature with any kind of attack but nothing seemed to be getting through at all. "Woah boy!" The blue hedgehog told the flying reptile as it tried to shake it's hitchhiker off. Grabbing the creature by the horns on the back of it's head, Sonic tried to steer the thing and tow his surprise, it actually complied, diverting it's coarse from left to right as the hedgehog tugged on the 'reigns.'

It was a long shot, but Sonic suddenly got an idea. Distracted with the other dragons flying around him, Dark Oak didn't see the blue hedgehog's ride approach him from above. From this vantage point Sonic could see the shield as the sun reflected off its surface. There was a gap in the thing, directly in the top.

"I'll take it from here." He told the dragon giving the flying reptile a thumbs up before leaping off its back and dive bombing down towards Dark Oak. Reaching a certain height he started spinning, going after and faster until his entire body seemed to whip up a twister. Dark Oak only noticed Sonic when it was too late to do anything about. The hedgehog came storming through his defence and crashed with tremendous force into the egg on its back trying to shatter the thing.

The beast screeched, all three mouths screaming in anger before a tentacle shot around and batted Sonic away. The hedgehog was sent flying until he collided into the side of a building, through a broken window and finally into an old filing cabinet, leaving a large dent in it. "Ow…" Was all Sonic managed to say.

Dark Oak looked back at the egg on his back. It hadn't been compromised; no cracks ran over the surface. But Sonic had come dangerously close that time.

Metal Sonic stood watching the whole spectacle from afar. He remained stationary and silent for a good while. He'd been a pawn from the beginning, from one master to another, controlling his action like a puppeteer. Nothing but a tool to be used for the furthering of someone else's ambitions, a mere machine. And now here as the final controller, for Metal Sonic had had enough. A line was drawn in the sand and Dark Oak had crossed over that line. The lord of Metal X had given his trust over to his betrayers and had paid the price for it, but that didn't mean that he couldn't correct his mistake.

"Are you certain that they're there?" Bark asked Tikal as she told them her destination. Ever since she had left Dark Oak reveal his true form, she knew Shadow and the others were going to need her help. She could sense their presence and the fight itself in the ruins of Station Square and that was where she proposed they go.

"I know it." She replied forcefully. "We have to get there before it is too late."

"Then perhaps I can be of assistance." Jefferson Ridge, CEO of the Hexagon Corporation announced. "There's a chopper belonging to the company on the roof of the penthouse." He added. "There's enough fuel to get you there."

"Why are you being so helpful?" Hare asked, giving the human a sceptical eye.

"Yeah, from what we've heard; Hexagon isn't exactly known for trust-worthiness." Bark added in. Jefferson smiled grimly in response.

"A lot has to be done if you want to stay ahead in the market." He replied with a superior expression. "As for me personally, the end of the world is really bad for business so it's in my best interests to give you a helping hand." None of them had any reason what so ever to trust him. According to Chuck, his organisation had been responsible for more than one death in their ambition to rise to the top of the corporate ladder and seize financial control of G.U.N, but with the world falling apart around them they didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Energy levels dropping." Sam reported, reading off the statistics coming in from the Typhoon's energy core. The energy source Jailos had provided them was running out. Apparently it wasn't as unlimited a source as a Chaos Emerald. It had held them well until now, after enduring all that fighting. Tails was forced to keep the entire ship in stationary position on the mere outskirts of the ruins city. As long as they avoided any battle situations, the power sources should last. But that still left them trapped on the edges of a battle and with no way of helping Sonic and Shadow.

"Just what is it?" Chris asked, staring out at the hideous creature. Even from this distance they could see its three heads and the root like tentacles.

"It's a being from Nexus." Jailos replied firmly, staring out at the beast with unlinking yellow eyes.

"You've people have seen them before?" Tails asked.

"Oh we've seen them before alright." The alien female replied with a flat expression. "And there's only one way a creature like that cane been in this dimension." She added, fear suddenly creeping into her eyes. "For years I thought it a simple children's tale, but that very creature's presence here proves it all true." Cosmo looked up.

"He is coming." She stated, glancing up at Jailos; who simply nodded once in response.

"Yes…yes he is."

"Just who is 'he'?" Chuck asked, getting a little impatient.

"His name is Krish Kra Pal." Jailos told them all. The name rang bells all around the group. "In Black Arm fables, he is the great exterminator. He hunts my sect with sadistic hatred, a relentless force that we have to run from."

"In Echidna history, he's the god of my people." Knuckles told her over the holographic link up with Eggman's flagship. "It's because of him I'm one of the last of my kind." His tone was very hostile.

"And it's because of him that the Black Arms are being hunted by the Confederacy Army." The female alien replied. "Legend states he was the one who installed the hatred of us in them. His power is fabled to be immense and his form unstoppable, but he was banished into the realm of Nexus eons ago." She jabbed one of her fingers at the creature in the distance. "The very realm this beast is from. The only way it could be here is Krish sent it here and if he did, then it's more than possible he could return as well."

* * *

- 

All Dark Oak did was laugh, all three heads echoing that chuckling chorus high into the air. The head with the glowing blue eyes arched forward and spat, a beam of energy leaping from between it's jaws, a bright wave of destruction carving it's way through the ground towards them.

Shadow and Sonic dived out of the way as Metal Sonic charged in from above with talons spread wide. with a loud thud he landed on top of one of the heads and before the creature could react, the robotic hedgehog carved several deep clashes in it's slimy skin. To his dismay, the wounds simply closed as soon as it was cleaved. The healing powers of this beast were incredible. Any injury that they could inflict it would instantly heal.

"Have you realized the futility of your efforts yet?" One of the heads asked, raising up before him it's scaly lips set in a long sneer.

"My task is a waiting game." Another head stated as it rose like a snake, twisting high above the robotic hedgehog.

"You can't hurt me and all I have to do is prolong the fight long enough for my master to return." All three stated at once, the head Metal Sonic was standing one flipping itself up, tossing Metal Sonic onto it's nose. The robotic hedgehog landed with a loud bump on the scales, scrapping his talons against the ridges to prevent himself from toppling over the edge. Looking up, he saw a three pairs of eyes lock onto him.

"Give up now and I assure you that your parts will be recycled in something far more useful." One of the heads told him.

"Like a can opener." Again that laugh ripped out through the air, that irritated, hideous laugh that sent waves of uncontrollable rage burning through Metal Sonic's system. The eyes burning blood red, the steel talons began tightening in anger, carving deep into the scales.

_"Why don't…"_ He began as the laughter continued. _"You just…" _With a sudden twist, the robotic hedgehog pulled himself up and hovered directly in front of those eyes. _"SHUT UP!"_ As if someone had suddenly spilt the atom, everything was bathed in an intense white light shot outwards like a rising sun. At the centre of it, Metal Sonic crossed his arms and legs in front of himself as tremendous amounts of energy began to accumulate. The concave yellow circle in the middle of his chest glowing brightly, power slowly being drawn into it as tiny balls of light.

The shockwave that passed backwards threw cars from the road and tipped several of the Black Arm ships sideways. There was a deafening sonic boom and a beam of energy tore through the air to collide with Dark Oak head on. The explosion tore nearly half of the already ruined Station Square to pieces. Sonic and Shadow tried to anchor themselves to the road but the resulting backlash of wind proved to much and the two hedgehogs were sent flying into the air.

Metal Sonic dropped to the scared ground like a rag doll, falling on his front on the asphalt with a thud. All of his energy reserves had been poured into that one blast and without that to fuel his systems he was on the verge of total systems crash. His sensors were already registering a dangerous level of compromise in his metal armour.

"Now that wasn't nice." A familiar voice laughed. Looking up, Metal Sonic stared in disbelief as the dust began to clear and the snake like form of Dark Oak began visible. All three heads were still there, scaly lips set in a humoured sadistic smile and not a single scratch on his body. That blast had gotten through his shield and still it hadn't done anything. There was a sudden movement to his left and a tentacles can lancing out of the dust to slam hard into his metal body, tossing Metal Sonic up into the air violently before batting him back down to the ground. A head can streaming out of nowhere and a second later, Metal Sonic found himself clamped between a row of sharp teeth. Several of them impaled themselves through his metal body, but thankfully missing any vital components.

"CHAOS SPEAR!" Looking up Dark Oak caught a succession of golden energy bolts head one and one of his mouths was forced to let go of the robotic hedgehog. Before Metal Sonic hit the ground, a blue blur came rocketing out of nowhere and caught him in mid air.

Shadow came skating down the side of a building before curving his body into a bal to start spinning. Gathering enough momentum, the black and red hedgehog came slamming down hard against Dark Oak's back, trying to break through to the egg growing there. Seeing his intention, the creature's heads all shot around and barred his way. Shadow slide through all of them and made a dash for the egg, quills spinning so fast the moment he came into contact with it would have shattered. Before he could however, a root like tentacle shot out and grabbed him by the left leg. Yanked away from his target, Shadow was tossed violently upwards before being hit directly with a blast from one of the beasts' mouths. Smoke trailing from his quills, Shadow was sent cascading over the ground before colliding with the side of a wall.

_"What do you think you're doing?"_ Metal Sonic asked as Sonic put him down a safe distance from the fighting. His injuries weren't that serious. Sonic had seen Metal Sonic sustain worse before. In fact, the nano-bots inside his body were already repairing them.

"Saving your ungrateful life that's what!" Sonic replied with a sharp glare down at the robotic hedgehog. Metal Sonic slapped his organic counterparts hand away, refusing to accept his help.

"Don't you ever try to help me again!"

"Gee, you're certainly Mr. Personality of the year." Sonic muttered flatly, before racing off to Shadow's aid. Metal Sonic lay there recovering from his injuries, his rage slowly simmering like boiling water.

He didn't need Sonic's help for anything. Despite their common interest, there was nothing on Earth that could get the robotic hedgehog to work with him. He would rather self terminate.

"It's like nothing hurts him." Shadow remarked, shoving a large slab of rock off his body and standing up amongst the rubble. The towering form of Dark Oak above him, the mass of tentacles swatting away the Black Arm dragons while the three mouths tried to snap them out of the air.

"That's a defeatist attitude." Sonic remarked, sliding to a stop beside him. Surprisingly one of his famous grins was pressed on his face, a smile spread almost from ear to ear; as if he was enjoying every minute of this. "Besides, I've got a plan."

_"Any plan you can come up with is doomed to failure." _Metal Sonic remarked as he rocketed past with talons out spread, the backblast from his jet engine nearly knocking both hedgehog's off their feet. Souring between the trashing roots, the robotic hedgehog came in hard and fast, slashing at anything that moved as he soured closed and closer to the core of the beast; one hand held ready with metal claws held wide.

"Trigger happy nut." Sonic sighed as he watched Dark Oak tear Metal Sonic out of the air, toss him around a few times bashing his body into the side of a few buildings before sending him flying high into the air.

"You were saying about an idea?" Shadow asked as Metal Sonic's body hit the ground a short distance away, sinking into it slightly. Sonic's grin widened.

"I think it might work, but I'm going to need your help to pull it off." He turned and looked over as the robotic hedgehog pulled himself out of the ground, his red eyes glowing like freshly spilled blood. "And yours." Metal Sonic simply raised his hand and fired a smaller energy blast at him, forcing the blue hedgehog to side step away from him.

_"There is nothing you can ever say or do; that could make me work with you."_ Sonic's grin vanished replaced by a frown.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He asked jabbing a finger as Metal Sonic as the robot hoisted himself up.

_"You used me like a puppet!"_ Metal Sonic replied, suddenly releasing all his bent up anger in one sudden burst; nearly screaming at the blue hedgehog. _"First you took my ultimate power; then you infected me with your personality and then turned me into a simple solider for you and your comrades."_

"Hasn't the penny dropped yet?" Shadow demanded of the robotic hedgehog, getting tired of this argument. "Mishoal messed with your head. He lied to you to get to go on that Chaos Emerald hunt, so you could do his dirty work for him." Metal Sonic glared at him angrily. "I was there; Sonic was the only one who didn't treat you like some kind of tool."

_"Don't lie to me!"_ Metal Sonic replied. _"Mishoal may have used me, but he was right about all of you. You offered me slavery disguised as friendship."_ Whipping out, the robotic hedgehog grabbed Sonic by the throat, his metallic claws threatening to break his neck._ "I should kill you right here."_

"You could do that…" Sonic told him, managed a short grin; apparently unconcerned about the dagger like talons at his throat. "But then you'd never be able to defeat Big n' Ugly without my help." Metal Sonic cast a glance up towards the creature about them. The Dragon's numbers were beginning to dwindle and it wouldn't be too long before Dark Oak's attention was latch securely on them. So far, all of their efforts hadn't made so much as a dent in his defence, and time was running out. The Egg on his back looked like it might hatch at any minute. "Metal, it's your choice. I'm not going to make it for you." With a sudden thrust, the robotic hedgehog let so of Sonic and shoved him to the ground.

_"What kind of choice is that?"_ Metal Sonic demanded. _"Cooperate with you, or face termination."_

"About the size of it, yeah." The blue hedgehog replied; sitting there with his arms folded in his lap. Still that smile refused to leave his face. "We can keep fighting apart and do nothing, or we can work together and at least have a fighting chance."

"So what's it going to be?" Shadow added in.

Metal Sonic growled angrily and turned away, crossing his arms in front of himself. From here, he could see Dark Oak's true size and somewhere, it stood as a reflection; a manifestation of his own pride and arrogance. Desperation had driven him, the thirst for freedom, to finally be who he really was, outside the influence of others. Wherever he had turned, someone was there tying to manipulate him, control his actions.

How much of his life had been the orchestration of others? His quest for power, his rise into the Metal Overlord, even his life as one of Sonic's defenders? Certainly his resurrection and rule of the Machine Federation. From the moment he had been rebuilt he had been nothing more than a puppet. And if that was all true, then precisely what perceptions had been changed to make him into that marionette? What had Mishoal changed inside his electronic brain to make his so guidable and controllable? Was Sonic right?

Metal Sonic was lost, too confused to even think. What the heck was he supposed to believe anymore? What was real in his life?

"So Metal." Sonic began, picking himself back up. "What's it going to be?"

* * *

- 

Flip card 1:

Name: Dark Oak's true form

Description: After masquerading as Metal Sonic's general, the real Dark Oak is a hideous reptile/plant like creature from the dimension known as Nexus. Endowed with great power by the dark God Krish, all Dark Oak has to do is delay Sonic and the others long enough for the egg on his back to hatch.


	56. Episode 28, part 2

Flip card 2:

Name: Rikoye

Description: Commander of the Black Arm fleet and leader of their sect.

* * *

- 

"Sir…we have an incoming message." Rikoye, commander of the Black Arm fleet looked up as a message was put through, the face of another of his kind, a fesonian appeared on the screen in front of him. It was a female, with a translator device around her neck. Her scales were a pale grey and the red on the end of her limbs stood out brightly, showing how young she was. Probably no older than a decade or two.

"Commander, my name is Jailos." She announced in their native tongue. "I am on board the ship the Blue Typhoon. I have important information." Rikoye glanced to the equipment at his side to check the transmission signal. It was indeed on the ship they had detained in their holding bay, which during the fighting not too long ago had managed to escape. Now it lay at the front of the combined armada, the closest airborne ship to the creature in the centre of the city ruins.

Of course, that ship could not have escaped without help from within.

"You are the dissident who aided in the escape of said ship?" The commander asked. As if it wasn't relevant to the situation in the slightest anymore, Jailos simply nodded in affirmation.

"Yes sir, I am. But thankfully there is no time for any charges of treason, the creature in the centre of the city is a being from Nexus." The very word 'Nexus' shut down all activity on the bridge of the mother ship. All technicians, pilots and personnel froze in their tracks, turning to stare up at her with wide yellow eyes blinking in utter surprise. Rikoye was left sitting in the commanding officer's chair completely stunned.

"Impossible." He stated finally. "That dimension was sealed for good a long time ago."

"We've all be deceived commander." Jailos announced, trying to explain to him just how desperate the situation was now. "It wasn't Metal Sonic who lured us here. It was another being from that realm, one we all know too well."

"She's right sir." One of the scouts reported in, his own image appearing right next to her. "We've just completed our survey, that creature is indeed from Nexus. The dimension readings confirm it." Rikoye suddenly felt weak at the knees. If a being from Nexus could get here…the full horror of it finally hit him. His people had just walked head first into a trap, but one of far more cunning design than that of Metal Sonic's conception. It seems the robot was a small a pawn as the rest of them.

"Order the evacuation!" He announced to the crew. "Get us off this planet NOW!"

"We can't run sir." Jailos begged him. "He'll find us no matter where we go, unless we stop him returning now." The commander kept barking orders for the Black Arm fleet to leave the Earth and run, to get as far away from this star system as it possibly could. "That creature sir, if we destroy it now, we can stop him. The Egg on it's back!" Looking back, Rikoye watched the image of the planet like lizard increased in size as the sensors zoomed in, locking onto the small white and round object embedded in a bony ridge on its spine. "He's inside that sir. If we can destroy it before it hatches…"

The holographic display on the bridge of the Blue Typhoon cut off as the communications link with the Black Arm mother ship was cut off. Jailos cursed in her native tongue, before turning the translation device back on; converting her voice back to Standard English.

"Didn't go well?" Okida asked sceptically. Even if none of them had been able to understand the frantic tone the commander's voice had taken.

"My people are terrified of the destroyer." Jailos sighed angrily. "They've been running from those who want to kill them for so long, it seems to be the only reaction they have to major threats."

"They didn't have any problems with invading us." Amy added in. Jailos ignored the remark.

"Hey look!" Tails declared, jabbing a finger forward. Everyone looked up to see the Black Arm mother ship moved forward, pushing through the front of the fleet to travel closer toward the city. Silently, its colossal form brushed past the Blue Typhoon and as its tip passed over the outskirts of the city, several large spikes projected out of the front.

"They're going to attack…" Their black arm dissident exclaimed, looking stunned by this sudden change in behaviour. And indeed they did attack, the spikes began sparking green lightning, before a powerful beam cumulated from the energy of each one and rocketed forwards down towards the city.

All thee of Dark Oak's heads rose themselves, watching the blast from the ship near them, streaking through clouds as it cutting a hole in the sky. Seeing the danger, the remain Dragons had hadn't been squashed or eaten flew off to a safe distance. Letting out one final laugh, all of Dark Oak's heads simultaneous opened their jaws and began powering up, their combined energy forcing one wall ball of light before them.

After tending to the attack's strength, the inter-dimensional being fired it forward and the two attacks met in mid air. For a while, each of them seemed to be of equal strength. Then Dark Oak just seemed to get a power boast of nowhere and the balanced tipped drastically in his favour.

The beam the Black Arm mother ship was trying so hard to maintain was being pushed backwards, slowly at first then rocketing backwards towards the ship itself. At the last second however, an intense barrage of missile fire struck against Dark Oak hard, fired from the Flag Ships of the Eggman Empire and G.U.N. One of the heads faulted and stopped supplying energy for the attack and then the Black Arms were able to fight back again. Giant Wing and the Whale Shark Flagship moved into attack position, tacking up flanking positions on either side of the Black Arm mother ship. Once there, all attack systems locked onto Dark Oak and then both of them opened fire. The air was a blaze with artillery, missile, bullets and laser fire, all concentrated hard on Dark Oak.

With one sudden thrust, the beam the monster was firing dissipated and all that firepower crashed into its body at once. A huge column of smoke and dust was thrown up into the air, blanketing everything.

"Woah, what a light show." Rei remarked, covering his eyes with a hand to protect them from the glare. Beck was trying to see what was going on as well, not to mention trying not to let an unconscious Charmee get blown away.

"Did they do it?" Cream asked, hovering at the flying squirrel's side with Emerl right behind her. Chaotix had been able to move themselves outside Station Square to the desert plains surrounding the city. Now they were in, what they believed to be, a safe zone. Espio groaned loudly and pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head Opening his eyes, he found himself and the others in a very different landscape to where they'd been previously. Had he gotten hit on the head on something? Vanilla was there with them looking a little worse for where and Vector wasn't too far away he noticed.

"I feel worse than a dingo with all four legs clamped in bear traps." A voice stated. Looking to the side, Espio saw Fang the Sniper sitting a short distance away.

"You should murderer." The chameleon told him flatly trying to stand up. Fang shot him a glare and reached for a knife.

"There's a time and a place for this." Vector snapped back over his shoulder. The dust was clearing in the city centre, and the scene did not bode well. "And that is certainly not it!"

Dark Oak started laughing again, all thee lips working together in that chuckling. Despite the bombardment by the three strongest ships in the fleet, all he had on his skin being a few scratch and burn marks, not much of it had affected him.

"That's impossible." Jailos remarked in utter disbelief. Nothing could possibly survive fire power of that magnitude.

"Nothing's impossible for the seven Chaos Emeralds." Tails reminded them all, directing their attention to the sparkling jewels trapped in the Dark Oak's central forehead, supplying the creature with a great deal of power. It was like fighting against Perfect Chaos, the Biolizard and Metal Overlord all rolled into once.

Someone tapped the glass above them. Looking up, they gave Sonic waving down to get them from above. Lying on the top of the glass in a lazy style, greeting them as if today was just another day.

"'Bout time." Amy remarked with a short smile as the blue hedgehog slid down the side to reach their level.

"Sorry I'm late. Was busy kicking butt." Sonic replied in his usual tone. "Can someone get the Turtle Mech up onto the deck? I've got a plan."

"You're not going to shoot yourself out of that cannon again are you?" Tails asked with a worried expression on his face.

"Sort of, a few alterations to the design that time around." Sonic replied with an all knowing grin, before diapering, racing off to the front of the ship.

"I hope what he's got planned works better than the rest of them." Okida remarked, before racing out the door to comply with the request.

With a loud roar, the Turtle Mech; one of G.U.N's artillery walkers rose up into place on the front deck of the ship. The green armour plating that gave the Mech its name moved aside and the cannon itself moved up into position. There was a sudden loud clanking sound as the buffers, the metal straps that kept the walker in place while it fired, strapped themselves over the four bi-pedal legs.

Okida quickly slipped into the pilot's seat, the targeting sensors came on line, a crosshair lining up towards Dark Oak.

"Target locked." The Major announced through a head set to the outside world.

On the tip of the Cannon, Sonic and Shadow stood watching Metal Sonic. The robotic hedgehog stood on the tip of the Blue Typhoon's front with his arms crossed. There was complete and utter silence between them. Before Metal Sonic nodded once, uncrossed his arms and began to approach. Sonic gained a superior smirk and gave a thumbs up. "What the!" Okida exclaimed, watching the energy reading sky rocket. The Turtle Mech had just exceeded its tolerance levels, all sensors spiking into the red. From the bridge, Tails watched in awe as the top of the artillery cannon and gleaming like a second sun. A second later the entire ship began shaking as the energy levels climbed to new heights. Inside the cannon, spinning around one another like some bizarre atom symbol, Shadow, Sonic and even Metal Sonic himself were quickly gathering momentum.

Their combined energy culminated together, growing each time any of them passed by one another. At this rate, the entire ship was growing to break apart never mind the Mech. Okida could already se whist was happening to it. If the cannon fired, the resulting shockwave would knock the Blue Typhoon backwards over a mile.

Dark Oak looked up to watch the light spectacle. Clearly this was some elaborate plan to stop the revival of the Master. As the protector Dark Oak could not allow that. All three heads came together and opened their mouths, sharing their energy with one another, a single ball of bright light appearing between their jaws, growing larger and power bright with each passing second.

Okida swallowed hard. He didn't have a choice, it was do or die now.

There wasn't a person on the entire planet that didn't hear the bang that single shot made. Windows were shaking as far away as France and what was left of England. With a near literal earth shattering ka-boom, all three of them were sent rocketing out the cannon; spinning around each other like intense fireflies. A second later, the cannon itself exploded and Okida was forced to eject from the mech as it destructed, the green armour plating blowing to pieces in a second a fire storm advanced over the deck of the ship. The shockwave hit the Typhoon and it took every ounce of piloting skill of Tails part to keep her from plummeting down towards the ground.

Dark Oak's attack fired, a spectacular show of light as three energy beams merged into one before rocketing forward. The blast fired from the Blue Typhoon seemed to do the same, three points of burning orange light spinning around each other seemed to blur into one whole. The entire fleet was watching as with all the force of an atomic explosion, the two forces collided.

The ground shook like it was the end of the world and all Dark Oak could do as screech as his own attack gave away and his end came rushing to meet him. Sonic, Shadow and Metal Sonic tore into him like bullets before ripping out the other side, the deadly force of an intense explosion following behind them; deadly fire that quickly consumed the creature in a show of light that was visible from space.

"What the hell was that?" Bean asked as the chopper they were in got tossed about in the air like balloon in an updraft. With Bark at the controls they managed to avoid crashing into any buildings. Tikal widened her eyes in awe. They'd done it. They'd actually broken the defence. She could sense the exchange of energy from here. They almost had victory in the bag but it wasn't over yet. They were all still in a great deal of danger until they finished it.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the fleet could see Dark Oak was still there, his colossal form swaying in mid air. Two of his heads had been burned off and most of his tentacles destroyed. His only remaining head had had large chunks taken out of it and was barley able to keep itself up.

With one final screech, the neck convulsed and it crashed to the ground. As it hit, the seven Chaos emeralds dropped out of the forehead and scattered on the street before the beast. A second later, the monster died; a loud hiss escaping it's lips as the eyes slid shut.

Vector looked up as the chopper above descended towards the ground before finally touching the ground. Tikal leapt out even before its feet touched the desert floor and went running past Chaotix up to the city. She didn't stop until she was on the very outskirts of the ruined city, staring in, trying to see what was happening, straining to glare through the ruined buildings and bellowing clouds of smoke.

"What are you guys doing here?" Bark asked, stepping out of the chopper as the blades began to slow down.

"We've been asking ourselves the same question all day." Rei replied with a short grin.

Cream stared after Tikal, who remained completely stationary on the top of a sand bank, staring into the derelict city like a statue. The dust was beginning to settle and so far none of them could see the giant Dark Oak towering there, no slashing tentacles or three giant heads full of taunting laughter. Perhaps that last attack had done it. Quickly Cream went after her and was quickly standing at the girl Echidna's side, her ever dutiful guardian Emerl walking quickly after the rabbit girl.

"Are you ok?" She asked, tugging at Tikal's arm.

"Give me a minute." The female Echidna replied, beads of sweat running down her face. "Then I'll let you know." Her expression filled with anticipation and a good deal of fear.

* * *

- 

Sonic pushed himself out of a middle of rubble, brick dust covering his quills. It had done the trick apparently, but it hadn't been a pleasant ride. Nearby Shadow hoisted himself up, also covered in dust. Shaking it out of his fur, he looked back the way they had come. After tearing through Dark Oak, all three of them kept going and had carved a very large scar down the ruins. A canyon like tear had been torn down after them, smoking rising from the edges were tarmac was till melting.

"Hey where'd Metal Sonic go?" The blue hedgehog asked, looking around for his metallic counterpart. A glint of metal on the sunlight caught his eye and looking over, Sonic saw a robotic hand sticking up through the covering of dirt and dust. Running over, Sonic pulled the robotic hedgehog up to a sitting position.

_"__I'm fine, leave me alone."_ Metal Sonic told him, brushing away any of Sonic's attempts to help him up.

"Well excuse me." Sonic replied with a bored expression, crossing his arms and turning away as if sulking.

"We don't have time for this." Shadow stated angrily, forcing himself to his feet and shaking the bits and pieces out of his quills. "You can chat later." With that he shot off, skating towards the carcass in the distance. Sonic ran off after him and once Metal Sonic had reactivated his jet engine tagged along as well.

The two of them caught up to Shadow as he stood in front of the dead creature, looking up at it's single remaining head sceptically, as if suspecting it was trying to trick them. Sonic picked up a rock and tossed it as the thing. It hit the beast directly in the eye but Dark Oak didn't move, he was dead alright.

"I guess he won't bee needing these anymore." Sonic added in a large smile, picking up two of the Chaos Emeralds that were simply lying round them. Shadow held out his hand and the remaining jewels on the ground flew right to them, hovering just before his fingers. He was going to need all the energy he could get to finish this. Turning, Shadow faced the egg on the top of the dead beast. He didn't know if Dark Oak's well being was tied into the egg's, but it was too much of a risk to assume so. With his free hand, Shadow prepared a Chaos spear. Sonic saw his efforts, smiled and prepared to fire a Sonic Wind to help him. Metal Sonic, also eager to finish this business raised his hands for an energy blast of his own.

"Hey what's that noise?" Sonic suddenly asked, dropping his hands. Shadow also paused, listening. Then they all heard it, a loud thudding sound, a regular as a heart beat and growing louder. They watched as the scales on the back of the dark creature began glowing bright red. Slowly this glow built itself up, before concentrating itself on the skin underneath the egg.

Sonic had to back step as suddenly, as if whatever energy was left in the body was sucked out, the body of Dark Oak collapsed into a colossal pile of grey dust. The egg dropped down to land with a soft thud in the largest hill of the stuff, then it rolled down to the bottom before getting caught in a refuse where Dark Oak's nose had been.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Shadow left a lump in his throat as the egg cracked and bony spikes shot out through the shell. Sonic and his metal counterpart watched as the shell gave way and with one sudden force, it fell apart completely revealing the new being inside. A long muscular tail swept out behind it, with four stegosaurus like spikes on the tip. A row of spikes ran over its shoulders and the outside of its arms; two horns lancing out either side of its head, curving up above.

Slowly, the new arrival stood up showing it was humanoid, but had bipedal legs with two large claw like toes in the end of its feet. Its hands were cloven and had talons instead of fingers. Its form was silhouetted against the sun, giving it more than a distinct dark impression as it stood there, its tail swaying behind it. Apart from the spikes, the entire body was coated in a thin short black fur. As it turned to face them, all three of them got a glimpse of those red eyes in person and the insect like pincers that took up the space of a mouth. All of them had seen his image, some more than others, but they all knew with certainly what he was and there was no question and green flames began burning across the width of his shoulders.

"You…" The black and red hedgehog hissed, fury seeping into his eyes like tears.

Tikal gasped out load, holding a hand to her heart as the shockwave passed through her like a tsunami. No…impossible...no….NO! He was alive, he actually alive. Not an essence, but a living creature, flesh and blood. NO!

At the same time, Cosmo felt it as well and her reaction was less than silent. It sounded as if the world was coming to an end when she screamed.

"Is that who I think it is?" Sonic asked stepping backwards a few paces. The demon like being standing there before them didn't move, its red eyes locked solely on them, not flinching even for a moment.

"Hello Shadow." It stated after that brief pause.

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

The stage is set for the ultimate battle. It's do or die as Krish prepares to destroy the Earth and only a last minute alliance of friends and enemies is going to have any chance of stopping him. But can anything really stop the Destroyer? Find out next time as Dark Ages ends with the End Game Saga, Behold the Destroyer. Next time on Sonic X, Don't miss it!


	57. Episode 29

I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 29: Behold the Destroyer

* * *

-

Despite the queen's best efforts to get him punished, Void had managed to weasel off punishment for his efforts in the civil war against her. True he was still standing trial for various crimes against the state, but if they threw the book at him; that would make them incredibly unpopular. A few religious fanatics were screaming for his death, he had after all revealed their goddess; their revered mistress; to be a flawed being like the rest of them. For some reason that hadn't gone down too well with the temple staff, but no one was allowed to harm him without starting another war in the process and everyone was just about sick of fighting as it was.

Presently he had assumed his old position on the council, ironically sitting right next to the goddess in the meetings. To keep an eye on her, he mused with a small grin. He was going to make sure she didn't go behind his back and broke her promise to him, to inadvertently remove freewill from everything in existence. Right now, the small creature was going over a request from the Seer house. One of their number; a young girl called Cosmo had disappeared and their family was imploring him, the one who was rumoured to have out smarted a goddess, to find her. With little to do until his next court appearance, Void decided he would do so.

She had left no explanation of absence and the only clue they could give him was that she had been complaining about some vision she had. She had claimed a great darkness was coming, but being the smallest of a group of sister everyone passed it off as juvenile dramatics. Apparently, she had thought it otherwise.

"You already searched the entire stable area." Lumina told him after his third day of enquiries. Only a set amount of Maginary world was stable enough to anything to live there, the rest was utter chaos where the laws of physics were random and changing all the time. What kept this region this way as the Precious stone, a giant gem sitting in the temple of light in the centre of the city. "Where else could she have gone?"

"Another dimension perhaps." Void ventured with a smug smile as he looked over the records of dimensional jumps made in the last few months. Cosmo had first been noticed missing about three months ago so presently he was looking through to see if he could notice one that wasn't authorized. They were very easy to overlook. They had a good deal of scouts going across to other realms all the time so one could easily sneak through. "I just need to find which one."

"And search the entire universe of that realm reaching for her." Lumina reminded him. Every realm held their own universe, a massive never ending space that went on for forever. Picking out which one Cosmo had gone to would only narrow it down a little.

"Void, Lumina, come to me." The summons of their queen hung in the air, a telepathic communication only they could hear. Void looked up from his work with a sour look on his face. He hated being interrupted when he was on a role.

"Come on, let's go." Lumina giggled, planting a peck on his left cheek before flying off towards the door. Void sighed, before putting the scrolled records down and following her.

The architecture of Maginary World was grown rather than build, and like radiant Emerald was made completely of crystal. The hallways, chambers, buildings, streets, even the temple of light itself had gleaming like newly polish gems. Their colour was never the same, it changed never every second; pulsating from red to blue, then to green, then yellow and finally purple; before repeating the sequence again with other colours and sometimes not in that order. The colour of the city was always completely random.

The chamber of their queen was quite small compared to the rest of the temple. Being as powerful as she was, Illumina could change her size. That giant form she adopted after appearing in the dimension Void set his trap in had simply been for show, to intimidate the enemy and lionize her own forces.

The Elite Guard, her own personal warriors stood to attention at the gate like doors to the inner sanctum. They saluted as they approached and instantly the door itself open, creaking inwards to reveal Illumina's throne room. The centre of the temple of light was a oval shaped room with a floor that curved down into the centre. It was like an indoor arena, with rings of seats for the senate lining the outside. Only a fool would not have been able to pick out the queens throne. It was surrounded by several stone pillars that lanced up from the floor to the ceiling and directly in the centre of this circle was the throne. A towering seat carefully engraved with the imperial runes running up the surface.

Illumina herself was down at the pedestal that stood in the centre and upon which was the object of her guardianship. The Precious Stone, the artefact that maintained the stability of the imperial city. It was the size of the Master Emerald, a jagged purple crystal completely uncut; pulled out of the rock in which it had been found. It's glow bathed the entire chamber, pulsating like the beating of a heart.

"I know you believe in your theory of 'shades of grey', Void." The queen began, all of her wings unfurled at her sides as she gazed into the depths of the jagged stone, her long hair flowing out behind her. "But I'm afraid your philosophy can not apply to this new situation."

"Oh, and why not?" The small imp like being asked with a coy smile. Instead of replying, she simply stepped aside to reveal the Precious Stone; her expression as emotionless as ever. The vision it had been showing her welded both Lumina and Void to the floor, the smirk vanishing from his face as if it had never been there. No one had seen that face for eons and it was the way the mass majority of existence would like to keep it.

"Impossible." Void stated with wide eyes. "He was destroyed!"

He was exactly like the statues of the Echidna's apart from a few physical differences. His legs were bent and bi-pedal, resembling more the arched limbs of the Black Arms than the humanoid form the Echidna's expected him to be. His eyes were completely blood red and soulless like those on a china doll, the fading sunlight gleaming over their surface. Where a mouth should be was a pair of bony pincers lanced down, like those on a beetle with a serrated inside edge. The curved horns on the top of his head looked more decorative than to be used for any practical reason and made him look a great deal taller than he actually was. Bony spikes ran along his shoulders and the outside of his arms all the day down to his elbows. Those would be lethal in a fight, one wrong move and someone could end up with one of those impaled through their chest. Burning along the top of his torso was the green fire that confirmed his identity.

Silently, he stood there, the fire burning but he remained completely still; like a statue. The only sign that he was even alive was the steady rising and falling of his chest as he breathed.

As a being known over most of existence as the Destroyer. But his name, whispered like howls of wind in the night was Krish Kra Pal.

"Oh how refreshing the twilight wind feels. It's been so long, I'd forgotten." The demon like being sudden stated, gesturing to the sky above, the first few stars of the night poking through the diminishing daylight. "I've been a shade for so long, I'd even forgotten what flesh itself feels like."

"Don't get too used to it." Shadow remarked, a hostile expression on his face. "You won't be staying this way for long." Before either Metal Sonic or Sonic himself could hold him back, Shadow charged, a hand drawn back with fingers arched, a powerful Chaos Spear sparking to life between them. Krish simply held up a hand and some invisible but powerful force smashed head first into the black and red hedgehog. It tore him out of the air and sent him cascading down towards the ground, sending asphalt flying as he slid to a stop.

"Just be glad I don't need **_your_** body to exist in this universe anymore." Krish told him, a jabbing a talon at Shadow as the ultimate life-form strained to pick himself up. "And also, let me assure you that any attempts at stopping me now are most futile." He added letting his arms drop to his sides, the three talon-like fingers on each hand clenched and unclenching.

"If I had a penny for every time I've heard that." Sonic replied for a short grin. Krish shot him a sharp glare.

"Such arrogance." The demon like being stated flatly, his tone sounding disinterested. Slowly, he rose into the air, suspended in the air by some invisible force. "I can see a demonstration is in order to clear your heads of any notions of resistance." With a sudden thrust, he soured up the side of one of the few buildings left standing and onto the roof. Floating there before him in the sky was the armada, a giant collection of ships belonging to the Black Arms, GUN and the Eggman Empire.

He felt like a kid in a candy store. Which he picked, had to make an impressive show if he was going to get over his point. The Black Arms? No…killing them now would seem a little to anticlimactic for his taste. He wasn't about to waste his opportunity for revenge and not savour the moment first. GUN then perhaps? Those silly humans did deserved being taken down a peg or two.

No…there was one above the rest that really…**_really_**…needed to be taught a lesson right away. Chuckling to himself, Krish turned to face the Whale Shark Flagship.

The legend had been proved more than true; there he was…him…the destroyer. Regarded as so long as nothing more than a fairy tale, yet he stood before them as real as the universe itself. There was no question of identity; he was exactly as the fables described him, perhaps even more intimidating.

Rikoye commander of the Black Arm fleet stood there, watching the image broadcasted from the front of the fleet and sweating bullets. Jailos had been right, this had been a trap; a trap set by him, to lure them here so he could destroy them all. The fire engulfing the outline of his body intensified in a single moment, blaring brightly as a thousand stars in the night; the luminous neon green glow covering the ground like a blanket.

There was a bright flash and the fire leapt across the distance between them, but struck not any of their ships, but instead burrowed hard into the deck of the Whale Shark, the flag ship of the Eggman Empire. It tore a gapping hole open in the bow of the ship and burrowed like worms inside, burning metal as it went. Then the fire disappeared and everything was absolutely silent.

Nothing seemed to move during those few seconds. The air was stagnating with the utter silence. Everyone, quite literally everyone on the ground or in the fleet had their eyes held on Eggman's largest ship.

The air crackled like a thunderstorm and a second later, the entire flag ship exploded, just like that. Not just pieces of it, the whole thing was instantly consumed by fire and smoke and any ships close enough got engulfed by the flames as well.

Fiery wreckage came cascading down out the sky, falling to the ground; pieces falling away from the giant before crashing into the ground. There was one final blast and the main bulk of the flagship was blown to pieces, fragments of it raining down from the sky like snow, littering the desert and the deserted streets of the ruined city below with fire.

In the space of two minutes, Krish had completely destroyed Eggman's greatest battleship and without that to coordinate the others, the entire Egg fleet went into disarray. Battleships and smaller fighters no longer had any commands coming from their coordinator and drifted down to the ground to land, a standard produce central command ceased communications.

Souring away from the destruction in one of his many escape vehicles, Doctor Eggman looked back with a heavy heart at his pride and joy. It pained him to leave it behind, but it would pain him even more to go up in flames with it. In the back of the rocket shaped spaceship, Knuckles and Rouge sat strapped into two others seats. The Echidna was holding onto the Master Emerald for dear life. It had been a narrow escape, as they saw the energy blast coming and having now way to defend against it, they took the Master Emerald from the energy core and bid the flagship goodbye.

"I'm sosorry dear comrades, but this is where we say goodbye." The Doctor replied, looking back over his shoulder. Neither of the two mobians had a chance to say anything before a large sheet of metal clamped down between them, separating their two compartments. His two robots, Becoe and Decoe waved goodbye through a small glass window. "Adieu." There was a sudden shaking and Eggman's section broke away from the rest of the ship, becoming a capsule and rocketing upwards and away from danger.

"That bastard!" Rouge cried out.

* * *

-

Sonic watched from below, his face set in an awed stare, his eyes stunned open in utter disbelief. He had destroyed the Whale Shark Flagship with absolutely no effort at all.

Metal Sonic also could not understand what his own optics were telling him. That sort of power was impossible, literally. Nothing could hold that much energy. It rivalled the combined force of all seven Chaos emeralds, perhaps even exceeded it.

"Now, perhaps I've put things in perspective for you." A voice said from behind them. Glancing back, both of them saw Krish standing there. One second he'd been on the roof and the next he was there before him. "I've destroyed entire moons before. Face it, you're out of your league."

There was a sudden blast of light from behind them both and a supped up Chaos spear attack came souring between them and crashed straight into Krish's stomach. It didn't hurt him, but it did managed to cause him some irritation as he forced to take a step backwards. Looking back, both two hedgehogs, metal or otherwise, saw Shadow standing there; hand still raised after firing his attack. Giving him new strength were all seven Chaos emeralds, hovering in the air around him glowing brightly.

"I'll never stop until you go down." The black and red hedgehog stated, all of his soul burning within.

"Me neither." Sonic added in, jumping backwards to land at Shadow's side. Metal Sonic didn't hesitate, he joined them both, hands held ready in a fighting stance.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with." Krish hissed, now apparently quite annoyed.

"Well let's see!" Sonic shouted and suddenly the glow from all seven Chaos emeralds increased dramatically, becoming an incredible powerful beacon in the fading light. Tikal watched from afar, intense worry and fear etched like stone into her feature as the light from the Chaos emeralds shone out into the coming night.

"Shadow." She breathed into the air, tears suddenly rolling freely down her cheek like rivers. "Get away, run!" He couldn't win against a power like that. Krish was known as the Destroyer for a very good reason. Nothing that had ever stood before him had survived. It was only by good luck and fortune had the Fesonian scientists that became known as the God of the Sword and the God of the Shield even overcome him. And that was by trickery, no one had ever survived direct confrontation with the Destroyer.

Sonic's eyes snapping open, the emerald green changing to blood red, Super Sonic glared defiantly up at Krish. Super Shadow stood along side him on his left, the raven black fur changed to a shining silver. On the right Super Metal Sonic was already poised for an attack, all three of them surrounded by a glowing golden energy that sparked high into the early night. His dark features bathed in the light, Krish did not look that impressed.

"I hadn't expected anything different from any of you." He admitted, before lancing forward with unthinkable speed, smashing the strongest punch Sonic had ever been dealt into his stomach. Gagging backwards, the golden hedgehog collapsed to his knees.

Super Metal Sonic charged talons raised for an attack, but it stopped short as a cloven hand lashed out and grabbed him around the head. Shadow came in from the other side, only to fall prey to the same tactic. "Perhaps this way you can all finally learn respect." Smashing Super Metal Sonic and Super Shadow together between his talons, Krish swung them over his head and brought them down hard on Super Sonic's back. Grabbing all three of them by the legs, the demon carved them up into the air before engulfing their entire bodies with his fire, a brilliant flash of green swallowing the ruins of the city like a supernova.

Super Sonic was sent flying backwards, landing with a loud crash into the side of a wall, nearly breaking through the building itself. Shaking his head to regain some feeling, the glowing yellow hedgehog looked up in time to see two talons come flying down towards him. Pushing himself out and rolled across the floor, he avoided being impaled.

Krish withdrew his arm from the wall and slowly turned to face him, the red eyes glowing brightly.

This was insane. This guy had just beaten all three of them and in their super forms, without extending any effort at all. As if it was child's play for him.

Leaping forward, Super Sonic crashed a punch directly into the demons face. To his horror, nothing happened. The monster didn't even flinch, as if he was made of stone. The red eyes glowing brightly, Krish' tail came whipping around smashing its side directly into the golden hedgehog's body; knocking him into the air.

Super Metal Sonic came at him from behind, talons outstretched. But as his metal hand went down to try to cut the flesh under the black fur, it was like his claws had smashed against titanium. His hand splintered and exploded in a spray of metal shards and fire, the fire spreading down his entire arm burning it to charred ashes in seconds. Krish bent down and then smashed a powerful kick into the super powered robotic hedgehog, sending him crashing through several buildings before cascading out of the city itself. His golden armour glowed brightly for an instant before the royal blue colour re-emerged. His body soured past Tikal and Cream before slamming into the ground. Sliding through the sand for a while, Metal Sonic finally came to a stop.

"He beat Metal Sonic with just one blow!" Super Sonic remarked in awe, stating the obvious as Super Shadow helped him to his feet.

"I saw." Super Shadow replied angrily, before about facing and charging himself. Krish looked back in time to catch a blast directly in the face as the hedgehog curved his around and a powerful attack rocketed forward. The demon's body disappeared in a flash of light but Super Shadow didn't stop there, he kept pouring on more energy trying to wither Krish down to nothing. Super Sonic flew around the opposite side and fired an attack himself; a supped up version of the Sonic wind, the swirling vortex a golden yellow. What was left of the armada watched as the city of Station Square vanished completely, what was left of the ruins collapsing completely into rubble and dust. The streets seemed to be consumed by the desert in seconds, the only few indications that a busy metropolitan area had ever been here were a few jagged remains on the outskirts. Everything else was destroyed in that instant.

From the midst of the chaos, a thick sadistic laughter could be heard. A second later, a powerful shockwave passed through the air and in the next instant, everything. The entire world seemed to be swallowed by green flames, geysers of fire lancing up into the sky like beacons to the night. Night was transformed into a green day and everything was lost in the haze.

Finally it cleared with one final force, Super Sonic and Super Shadow lay on the ground, smoking gently rising from their motionless bodies. Standing over them, eclipsing them from the rising moonlight was Krish, toying with a ball of green fire between his cloven fingers.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed out, watching everything from the Blue Typhoon. Okida and Sam speed had to hold her down to prevent her from going out there with her hammer. Krish was insanely powerful. He had beaten three of the strongest beings on the planet with ease. Amy wouldn't last two seconds.

Tikal watched from afar with tears in her eyes. Her lament however was not caused by fear. Her regret was that she had never told Shadow how she felt, before the coming of doomsday. That was what Krish was. The prophecy of the Armageddon had always referred to this being, the destroyer. Krish was not a god, but he might as well be called one for all the power he wielded.

"I am death." The demon whispered to the early night, expending his talons and with them the fire; watching the dancing flames with glee "I am the Destroyer. The Collimator of Destruction." Despite being unconscious, neither hedgehog lost their super forms, their fur still burning gold and silver with chaos energy. "I am the brother of Dooms Eye and you are nothing."

The blue band tied around Shadow's wrist started glowing.

As if the sun was rising, the two hedgehogs disappeared in a bright flash of white light; their essence whirled to one and then reformed into one body.

Krish quelled the fire between his fingers and stood still as the light died down and his new opponent stood there.

Nazo's eyes snapped open and before Krish could do anything, the white hedgehog raced forward like a shooting star, landing a punch directly into his stomach. The blow actually managed to do some damage, causing the demon like being to stagger backwards a few steps, his tail swaying out behind him. Nazo somersaulted over his shoulder, twisting between the horns and spikes before sliding down his back and onto his tail as if grinding. Grabbing the tip of the spikes there, the white hedgehog started spinning wildly; taking Krish with him, the two of them spinning around so fast they appeared like a blur.

Nazo finally released his grip and Krish was sent flying over the ground, colliding into a few of the ruins that were left before slamming hard, head first into the ground. The dust fell over him and he was left half buried, only his horns sticking out into the air.

"The Destroyer? Ha!" Nazo remarked with a wide smile landing in a fighting stance with his back to his opponent. "You're not so tough." He added, turning around. "I couple of Black Arm techo-dudes could beat you…" He froze in mid sentence, noticing that Krish had disappeared.

"You have a lot to learn." A voice from behind him stated. Whipping around, Nazo fired a blast in that direction, only to find nothing there to meet it. "No one who thinks so little of himself could ever defeat me." Snapping around again, Nazo finally saw him; his dark and almost dinosaur like form standing nearby. Perfectly silhouetted by the rising moon, he appeared more intimidating now than ever.

"I don't think little of myself." The white hedgehog retorted, somersaulting forwards with a fist held head. Krish dodged the punch, before grabbing Nazo by the arm and slamming a knee into his stomach.

"Oh but you do." The demon persisted, yanking Nazo high into the air batting him down to the ground with his tail. "Ever since you first came into existence all you've ever believed yourself to be is the combination of two minds." Nazo dug himself out of the dirt and roughly stood up.

"I know what I am." He replied, before dodging as Krish went on the offensive, firing several blasts of intense green fire at him.

"That's where you're wrong." Krish stated as Nazo soured in, landing a kick against his chest. Krish staggered backwards, before lashing out with his talons; tearing out at the white hedgehog as it dodged around his lunges in mid air. "The whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts." The confusion was plain on Nazo's face and all Krish did was laugh at his expense. "Hasn't the penny dropped yet Nazo? ...YOU are the legacy of the Robotnik family Shadow had been searching for!" The white hedgehog danced backwards through the air to land on the ground a safe distance away. "Yes I know all about that. In Nexus, there was little to do apart from monitor events." Nazo looked down at the blue band around his wrist. "That's only a key. It allows the union to flow together far easier." A sadistic gleam attached itself to the red doll like eyes. "Did you feel it, the flawless merge? No energies in conflict whatsoever? Don't you think it's a tad convenient?"

"I don't know what game this is, but I'm not playing by your rules!" The white hedgehog snapped, reassuming a fighting stance. Krish shook his head, looking a little disappointed as Nazo rushed at him.

"You are blind and completely ignorant." He snarled, grabbing the hedgehog out of the air and pinning him to the ground under his foot, his talons sinking into the ground on either side of his head. "Prof. Gerald was a simple mortal meant to serve only to create a temporary vessel for me to wander this world in. But from him comes all resistance to my plans, and your very existence. His one last ditch effort to stop me and even this has come to naught." The sadistic gleam in his red eyes intensified. "For punishment, I rid his mind of sanity." Nazo gazed up at him in anger, before grabbing the talons and with one shove, tossed the demon like being off him.

"You made him insane?" Krish simply nodded, proud of the fact and looking pleased with himself as well.

"My voice in an already troubled man's head can be quite pervasive." Nazo's face set itself in a look of such utter hatred is could curdle milk. "I hadn't expected him to go quite so off the deep end and reprogram Shadow to hate the Earth, to try and destroy it. But that was out of my control at the time. In any case, it would have made the jobs of my servants far easier."

"YOU EVIL BASTARD!" Nazo screamed; his entire body engulfed in a sudden blast of white light. "Wherever you go all you do is spread pain and misery, and you revel in it!"

"I am merely dealing out order. Order this entire universe graves." Suddenly his body was consumed by his fire and he stood there, comfortable in the embrace of the flames. "You destroy to protect one insignificant world, while I destroy to unite countless planets. Which do you think has a greater priority?"

"Shut up and fight!" Nazo demanded, before curving his body around to start spinning. As he spun faster and faster, the glow around his body began to intensify, growing stronger than the emerging stars above. Lighting sparking over the quills, the ground began to break up under him, unable to bear the energy build up. Krish remained silent and stationary, his fire remaining at the same brightness it always had, as if uninterested with the threat.

With a loud sonic boom, Nazo rocketed forward, threatening to tear right through the demon like being, who at the fast minute, simply held up one hand and it was as if the entire world was swallowed by green fire, its presence almost everywhere, burning in the skies for an instant before vanishing. The shockwave hit the fleet like tsunami wave and knocked whole ships about like toys in bath.

"Fall back!" The President ordered, hanging onto the edges of his command seat for dear life, as Giant Wing was hardly able to keep itself level in the air. As quickly as it could, the fleet began to pull away, trying to get as far away from the fighting as they could. The Black Arms followed suit, bidding a hasty retreat. The only ship left in the immediate danger zone was the Blue Typhoon. Amy was left staring down at the ground in horror, tears wheeling up in her eyes.

"What was that?" Cream asked, gazing up at the sky, unsure of what had just transpired. Tikal let the tears flow freely and sank to a sitting position.

"That was the end." She managed to say, before turning away.

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Krish Kra Pal

Description: Known throughout the universe as the Destroyer, Krish is primarily the god of the Echidna race and has a connection to the Black Arm sect.


	58. Episode 29, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: Armageddon Station

Description: Buried under Station Square for eons, this Behemoth is the ultimate destructive Weapon and is now in the hands of the Destroyer.

* * *

-

The smoke cleared and Krish was left standing alone. A large gorge had been carved in the earth before him where his opponent had been, a smoking rising from the long trail. Nazo had vanished altogether. The destroyer remained still for a moment, sensing the air to try and make sure he had actually accomplished his goal. After a while, when nothing happened he felt satisfied that he had destroyed the greatest threat to him on this planet. So much for the late Prof. Gerald's scheming. True, his efforts had born dangerous fruit, but ultimately it had all been for nothing.

Like the cowards he took them for, the Black Arm fleet had bid a hasty retreat; although in their current condition they had been forced to stop a short distance away instead of fleeing the planet. He could see their parked ships from here. They thought they were using the nearby mountain ridge for camouflage, but he could see them most clearly. He could go after them now and finish them off, but somehow that seemed too anti-climatic. After their long game of cat and mouse, the Black Arms deserved at least to go out with a bang.

A brief wave of pain past through him and he was forced to glance down to his left arm. The Destroyer saw that one of the spikes had been ripped off, taking a good deal of the skin and flesh along with it. Nazo had managed to hit him after all. The fire around his shoulders increased for a moment and a replacement spike shot out the flesh in a thin spray of blood, the skin instantly healing around it.

For a good couple of minutes, he took the time to savour the feeling of flesh and bone. Even in Nexus, he had been deprived of it. A simple essence, wilful but without any physical presence. Now all that had been changed and his body had been return to him.

But there was still one thing left to do before he set the ball rolling. Slowly, he lifted a hand and sent a blast of telekinetic energy down through the ground. The shockwave hit the earth and nothing happened.

Without warning the ground began to shake like a thousand earthquakes at once, the earth splitting open, cracks like spiders webs spreading out for miles. The entire wasteland that had once been Station Square cracked and separated into thousands of pieces before finally caving in as an object buried deep below rose up towards the light. First came colossal metal spires that lanced up into the clouds like teeth, piercing the sky. Then came the main bulk, a colossal vessel that made anything Doctor Eggman could conceive look like a joke. Towering walls of metal with no apparent end just kept rising, further and further up into the sky. Then finally, it cleared the ground; pieces of rocky debris falling free; whatever was using to hold the ground up gave way and all that was left was a massive canyon to the underworld. The Fleet watched from a distance as Krish arose the crashed station, buried for centuries by tones of earth and rubble. The thing was colossal, a giant was unrivalled proportions. The thing had to be at least the size of the ARK in orbit.

The Station had been badly damaged by the fall, a good half of it falling into complete ruin. The outer edge had been eroding over the centuries and was in desperate need of restoration. Krish floated down to it's underside to study the large protrusion that lanced directly downwards, the only object on the flat surface was a gigantic needle, about half a mile in length. Surrounding it was a protective scabbard, with a side of it burnt off by the atmosphere entry, revealing the damage down to the inside. At least the cannon was still here and it hadn't been blown off completely. But still, it would unfitting for a being such as himself to take use of a vessel that had been buried for uncountable years in the ground.

Trying to rebuilt it himself was within his own abilities, but not very practical, and he hadn't the patience for such an endeavour. Luckily, he didn't have to work himself. Outstretching a hand towards the top of the ship, he remotely activated another of the long dormant systems. With a loud groaning, a door long since rusted shut was pushed out of the way and thousands, literally thousands of drones came creeping out. Resembling insects, these were early attempts at Fesonian bio-engineering. A fusion of metal and flesh, striding over distances with long bi-pedal legs that supported a small body in the centre. These were not fighters like their modern Dragons, but rather a keep way to produce manual labour. They swarmed over the surface of the station a and when they came to any damaged areas a pair of long multi jointed arms unfolded from their backs and began working. First they picked away what could not be salvaged before getting to work on repairs. They worked hard and first, never tiring for an instant.

The repairs required however would take some time and a few updates to the outdated technology would take a while. But at least, Krish was now in possession of a suitable chariot. Not to mention a very potent weapon.

"Just what is that thing?" The President asked at an emergency meeting. The leaders from the Black Arm fleet, including commander Rikoye were present. The meeting was being held on the Giant Wing fortress, which now was resting on the side of a mountain with the rest of the fleet. Eventually they had managed to gain control of the landed Egg Fleet ships and had dragged them to their falling back position.

"It's the Armageddon." Rikoye replied, gazing out across the night sky to the colossal shadow in the distance. Hours were slowing ticking by and by now it was the middle of the night. The moon was high in the sky, allowing them all a prefect view of the situation. Although the place where Station Square had once stood was miles away, the giant there would easily be seen. Scouts were reporting work being done by strange constructs and they estimated, by how much damage was left, that the work would be completed by tomorrow morning. "A battle Station constructed by the Black Arm founders during the first war against the Confederacy Army." By now, the commander had already filled the G.U.N leaders in on various points in their people's history. The war for independence from the Confederates, their odyssey across space and their dark enemy, the entity known as the destroyer. Although admittedly, their knowledge of Krish was not exactly first rate. All they knew of him was his image and his power. They did not know what he was or where he came from, only that he had been chasing them right up until their scientists found a way to dissolve his physical form and banish his mental projection to the dimensional realm known as Nexus.

"This…Armageddon… what exactly does it do?" Chuck asked. The crew of the Blue Typhoon had joined up with the fleet a short time ago. Sonic and Shadow on the other hand were still missing. Neither of them had been seen since Nazo clashed with Krish and vanished. The President was holding out little hope they would be found at all.

"It destroys planets." Rikoye replied flatly. "It was the host vessel for a weapon of tremendous power. A laser beam generator that would act as the ultimate deterrent for the Confederates. It was dubbed…"

"The Eclipse Cannon." Chris stated suddenly, his eyes coming to light with realization. Something clicked into place in his mind and the truth was made clear to him in an instant. The alien commander cast a glance at him.

"How do you know it's name?" He asked, sounding genially surprised through his translator device.

"That's impossible." Sam stated, looking as amazed as Chris. "Prof. Gerald, he created the Eclipse Cannon, didn't he?" Chuck put a forefinger and thumb to his chin and began thinking, tapping his foot several times on the floor.

"Perhaps his cannon was based on technology he recovered from the crash sites." he began, musing out load. "It's possibly that, like Doctor Eggman, he uncovered various sources of technology from the downed Station. He must have discovered the Armageddon below Station Square, copied the design and rebuilt the weapon on ARK with the materials he already had." He let the theory hang in the air for a while. As if giving time for it to be digested by the others. "But this cannon, the first Eclipse Cannon, was made completely from Fesonian technology. And if my guess is right, it's twice as power as the good Prof.'s version." The Cannon they saw fired was capable of destroying this planet, if Chuck was right, and this one could easily wipe out an entire solar system. A brief image of the Earth, Mars and any other surroundings planets being vaporized in an instant flashed through their minds and all of them shuddered inwardly.

"We can not let that weapon fall into the hands of the destroyer." Rikoye stated suddenly. "It must be destroyed before it can be used."

"But sir, the Destroyer will kill us all if we attack." One of his subordinates told him. "We have to flee this planet and get away while we still can."

"And go where?" His commander snapped angrily. "We've run out of places to hide. The Destroyer will hunt as down and kill us, no matter where we go. If he so much as suspects us hiding on a planet, he won't hesitate but to destroy it and all the surrounding worlds. The Eclipse Cannon in his hands will be a disaster, not just for us, but for the entire galaxy." Rikoye shook his head. He didn't like what he was about to say, but it had to be said. "No, this time; we stop running."

* * *

-

"Sonic…SONIC!" Flashes of torch light and yelling voices broke the relative peace of the undergrowth as Amy lead her search party through the tall trees. All of them had torches, now and casting the light at the bushes on either side of the pass, searching for the either of the two missing hedgehogs. The dark of the night however was not helping them in their quest very much.

"Look, we all saw it!" Fang protested angrily after an hour of finding absolutely nothing. So far, they'd covered most of the wilderness around what used to be Station Square and found nothing. "That hedgehog's as dead as the dodo." Not so much as a squirrel had crossed their path. As if sensing Krish' presence, most of the wild life had abandoned the area and Fang was inclined to do the same. Especially with their current passenger.

Emerl, still at Cream's side was carrying the unconscious Metal Sonic on his shoulders. The robotic hedgehog was offline and one of his arms had suffered sufficient damage, the hand blown completely off and the forearm in utter ruin. Deep scars and other damages had been dealt to his royal blue armour. Being a good foot smaller than Metal Sonic, Emerl couldn't help but drag the robotic hedgehog's feet along the ground. Tikal was with them as well, but so far the female Echidna had kept deadly quiet. Her eyes met no one and she followed them mutely, as nothing in the world registered anymore.

"My advice to you." Vector began with a thick sneer letting at his teeth showing at once, turning around to confront the weasel. "Is to keep your mouth shut." Fang was no coward, but currently he was unarmed and if inclined, Vector could snap him in half with those jaws so he complied and said nothing after that.

Amy ignored their squabbling and kept looking, peering through the trees and shrubs with her torch. Every ounce of her being told her Sonic was still alive, waiting for here, somewhere close. It was a feeling she couldn't describe and she knew she could trust it. Besides, the very idea of his destruction was like poison inside her mind.

"Hey, look at this." She heard one of them say. Turning, she saw Espio and Rei kneeling down a little further away. Vanilla was peeking over their shoulders inquisitively trying to see what they were looking at. They were crouched at the side of the path, examining the ground before them. Espio rang a finger over the ground and then lifting it up into the torchlight to get a better look.

"Blood." The chameleon stated, rubbing his finger and thumb together. Cream cast her torch on the bushes nearby, finding the leaves stained dark red.

"This was recent." Rei told them brushing a gloved hand against the leaves. "Someone must have passed by here, probably no later than ten minutes ago." Vector brushed a few leaves aside to see the ground more clearly and found a series of foot prints, coated in blood leading off the side of the path and into the undergrowth. Whoever these footprints belonged to wore sneakers.

"Hey Sonic, are you in there?" Beck called out into the darkness, but got no reply. "Give me a torch." The human asked and Espio handed him his. Picking his way through the bushes slowly, Beck found that the ground sloped downwards quite a distance into a small ravine, the thick canopy above hardly letting any moonlight through. The torch cast its light down into the depths and Beck studied the twisting lengths of plant life for any signs of movement. Everything was very still. But the blood trail at his feet lead on, carrying down the slope and down into the ravine itself. "I'm going down." He told the others before slowly descending, trying not to misplace his foot in the dark and go tumbling down into the abyss.

"Hang on, I'm coming too." Rei announced, before sliding after him using his skin flaps to slow himself down. The both of them reached the bottom at the same time and found it riddled with bushes and shrubs that obstructed any view of the ground.

"Can you see anything?" Beck asked, shining his torch this way and that trying to catch a glimpse of the blood trail that lead them here. Rei remained silent for a moment, his pointed ears angled forwards; before he looked up and pointed off to their right.

"There's something breathing over there." He announced in a hushed whisper. Beck nodded and slowly went off in that directly, shining his light down through the bushes with Rei following close behind him.

A short distance later, they found what they were looking for. Lying on the ground, covering in mud where Sonic and Shadow. Both of them had serious looking cuts and bruises all over their bodies and blood running down their faces. Their quills were all out of shape and some even missing. Sonic, by the looks of it, had been carrying Shadow all this way, before collapsing of exhaustion himself.

"They're down here, we've found them both." Beck shouted up to the others. Tikal looked up in sudden surprise, before rushing with Amy down the side of the slope and over to them with the others following close behind. Sure enough, there were the two hedgehogs; badly injured but still alive. Before Tikal could stop it, a tear ran down her cheek.

"Sonic…Sonic, are you alright?" Amy asked, gently shaking the blue hedgehog's shoulders. After a brief moment of silence, his eyes opened and Sonic cast a glance out at her.

"Hey Amy." He managed weekly, his smile spoiled by the blood rushing out the side of his mouth. "How's it hanging?" Amy didn't reply, instead she looked him over for injuries. He'd sustained a great many and his gloves were stained with blood. "Don't worry; most of it isn't my own." The blue hedgehog stated, looking over at Shadow. He was completely unconscious and now with several dozen torches on him it was revealed just how hurt he actually was. His fur was scorched badly and cuts ran down the entire length of his body. He looked like he'd been hit by an intense blast of flames. "Shadow took the worst of it. After we separated from Nazo he put himself in harms way to keep the blast from hitting me. I tried to carry him somewhere, but my own strength gave out and we fell down here."

"He's loosing a lot of blood." Vector announced, gently lifting Shadow up in his arms. The black and red hedgehog was as limp as a rag doll.

"He's not the only one." Sonic replied as Amy helped him up to his feet. Slowly, the hedgehog raised his hand slowing what he was holding in it. It was a bony spike about an entire arm length long; a large lump of bloody flesh hanging off the blunt end, the short black fur slowly turning red.

* * *

-

"Extraordinary." Chuck exclaimed for the third time in the last five minutes, his eyes pressed hard against a microscope as he studied the tissue sample Sonic had brought him. Most of it had gone into cold storage so the flesh wouldn't decay, but a blood sample had been taken and pressed on a glass.

"Just what are you looking at?" Jailos asked, looking over his shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the sample he was studying.

"The cellular structure is unlike anything I've ever seen before." The scientist proclaimed, rubbing his eyes from lack of sleep. "Completely impervious to disease and cancerous mutation. The blood cells only have one type, that carries oxygen and combats infections at the same time and at a far accelerated rate than is possible by current medical laws." He backed away from the microscope and leaned back in the chair. "Krish must have exponential healing abilities." Jailos nearly pushed him aside to gaze through the looking device herself. It was crude compared to the most advanced forms of observation the Black Arms employed but it did show her a great deal. It took much for her to believe that she really was looking at the blood of the destroyer. Her people had believed him beyond bleeding and a hunk of him had just fallen right into their hands.

There was something in the cell genetics pattern that seemed out of place and she stood up slowly.

"I'm no scientist, but I think the genetic structure has been tampered with." Chuck flew back to the microscope to take another look but paused before he did.

"You can tell that?" He asked with a puzzled expressions.

"Basic Genetics is a compulsory subject for hatchlings to learn." Jailos replied sounding supplied at his question. "Isn't it on your planet?" Chuck would feel a little foolish if he told her he had trouble with mathematics as a child and so simply cleared his throat nervously and got back to work.

The hissing stopped as the mechanics, who were still sweating bullets, finshed the repairs and the welding tool reduced it's flame. The mechanic working backed off and lifted his face guard. A loud clank rang out across the Mech repair bay onboard the Giant Wing as Metal Sonic clenched his new fist, admiring the serrated talons on each finger. It looked as good as new and it had put him in a good humour, so much so he was willing to ignore the G.U.N. insignia engraved on the outer edge. At least for now.

"I do not you're not planning to kill us with that new hand." One of the mechanic's stated, being slightly bolder than the others; who stepped backwards quickly fearing a violent reaction. Metal Sonic fixed the human with a glare. It was the one who welded the hand onto his body and hadn't done too bad a job of it. He was barley 18 and had thick red hair and blue eyes, along with a dirty smudge on his cheek from working amongst and on Mechs' throughout the battle.

"_Now that would be ironic._" The robotic hedgehog stated, clipping his new cape from his shoulder pads and marching off, the purple fabric trailing after him. The mechanic's watched him go and once Metal Sonic was out of ear shot, breathed a loud sigh of relief and taking amongst themselves as to how close to death they'd all come. All apart from that young one, who kept his eyes on the robotic hedgehog until he'd vanished from sight.

"Ow ow ow OW!" Sonic almost screamed as the Amy wound the bandages around his ribs. He'd broken two of them and his arm had a fracture. As a mobian, he would heal quickly but not quickly enough to allow him complete comfort.

"Oh stop whining." The pink hedgehog muttered, before finally tying off the end, constricting Sonic's lung and forcing the beginnings of tears into his eyes. "There we go."

Sonic staggered off, arms twitching by his sides as the bandages were pushing his ribs back into place. It would help him heal faster, but that didn't stop it from hurting like hell.

"The Eclipse Cannon?" Shadow repeated looking stunned after he was filled in on the situation. "Another Eclipse Cannon, and in the hands of that maniac?" He shook his head and narrowed his eyes in frustration.

"That guys bad news even without that kind of firepower." Fang muttered. By now everyone had amassed at the Blue Typhoon and the present threat was finally being revealed in it's true light.

"Why the hell do **_you_** want to help us?" Sonic asked, giving the weasel a glare. He had not forgotten the first time they met, when the mercenary had kidnapped Tails to force Sonic out into the open.

"Because, funnily enough, I don't want to get blown up along with the planet." The weasel remarked back matching the hedgehog's stare.

"So that's it." The President started as Tails finished telling both him and the Black Arm Commander about Krish's sadistic little plan, who he had used all of them to aid in his revival. "We've all been duped from the beginning? Metal Sonic, the Black Arms and even myself? Krish was using all of us?"

"He's evil to the core." Rikoye remarked. "The tales we tell our children are nothing compared to how ruthless he really is."

"So this is the deal." Sonic began, addressing all those around him as they gathered on the bridge of the Blue Typhoon. Everyone was here, Tails, Amy, Chris, Chuck, Okida, Topaz, Omega, Rouge, Knuckles….even Cream, Cheese, Vanilla and their robot guardian Emerl. Chaotix stood there too, Vector refusing to leave Vanilla's side. Cosmo sat nearby, a forlorn and strained expression over her face. Shadow had a similar one on his face as he sat alone off from the rest of them. "That station'll be ready by noon tomorrow and if it dose have an Eclipse Cannon on board, then we're sunk. Game over…" He paused for a moment to judge the expressions on their faces. Right now, most of them remained pretty unreadable. All he was able to tell was they were hung on his words. "Krish won't hesitate a moment. To get the Black Arms, he'll blow up this entire solar system. He has to be stopped." A few of them cast glances off towards the Armageddon in the distance, a colossal giant hovering above the Earth like the blade of the guillotine ready to fall. "I'm not going to paint a rosy picture for you. Shadow and I threw everything we had at Krish and hardly managed to even scratch him." The vivid memories of that battle threw his mind. They elevated their powers to great heights and still the Destroyer outclassed them. He was insanely fast, strong and powerful. Sonic put those thoughts aside, it wasn't going to help any of them right now if he started thinking negatively. "But even so, we have to try. We've got everything to lose now. Krish is responsible for nearly everything tragic event that befell Earth or Mobius." He turned towards Knuckles. "It was because of him that your people were destroyed." The Echidna clenched and unclenched his fists, the left side of his face twitching in anger. Knuckles had seen the annihilation of his race and it all been because of their devotion to Krish. "It was his fault the ARK was invaded fifty years ago." Sonic added, giving Shadow a glance. The Black and red hedgehog did not return it. He remained still and utterly silent, even as others turned to stare. "His servants revived Metal Sonic to use him to gather the Chaos Emeralds. Krish has been waiting for centuries for Mobius and Earth to merge, to use the dimensional…whatever… to cross over from Nexus." Sonic jabbed a finger off toward Krish' ride off the Earth; another of his stern and determined expressions on his face. "Now I say we stick it to him once and for all!" He paused. "So…what's it going to be?" Sonic asked, leaving the question hang. Silence endured…no one dared to say anything, watching each other for a response.

"_Battle mode set, ready for combat assignment._" Omega stated, raising a large barrel shaped arm and spinning his hand around into machine gun mode suggestively.

"I'm dying for a chance to show Krish what I'm made off!" Knuckles told them, smashing a fist into an open palm.

"So am I." Rouge said, leaning on the Echidna's shoulder.

"As always, it's a pleasure to fight by your side." Okida announced with a large grin spreading over his lips, one fang descending through his mouth.

"Ditto." Topaz added.

"We're with you until the end." Cream laughed. Emerl nodded, before clenching his metal fists with a metallic ringing sound.

"When do we start?" Amy asked with a coy smile, her hammer balanced on one shoulder. Tails nodded a thick smile on his face.

"The Chaotix Agency is at your service." Vector told him. Espio sighed, before shoving his way forwards.

"That's it Vector, I've just about had enough." The chameleon stated, catching hold of the crocodiles golden chain and hanging from down to face level.

"What is it now?" Vector asked with an annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm sick of you getting us involved in dangerous jobs that could very well end with us getting killed. That's what." Espio replied flatly releasing his grip. "I think we should all get to say whether we fight or not." Vector crumbled something under his breath and folded his arms.

"Oh I'm so sorry; please…tell us what **_YOU _**want." He announced sarcastically, turning his head away as if sulking.

"That's better." Espio began. He was silent for a moment, before several shuriken papered in one and he held them in a very ninja-style pose. "And I say we kick the Destroyer's butt!" Vector grabbed him by the shoulder and began grinding his fist into the top of the chameleon's head.

"That goes for me too." Rei stated with a short grin. Beck nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, let's go fight the bad guys!" Charmee explained, thrusting a fist into the air.

"Whattaya say Froggy?" Big asked his amphibian friend. The frog gave a loud croak that caught everyone's attention. "We're in!"

"The planet's going to be destroyed? What choice do we have?" Hare asked with Bean and Bark at his side.

"I've been on every one of your adventures since you first arrived on Earth." Chris told Sonic. "I'm not about to back out of this one."

"You can't die before we've had another race! It'd ruin my career!" Sam Speed grinned inanely. "So I'm going to make sure you don't."

"And I'm not past my prime yet!" Chuck announced, flexing his arms in a 'Popeye' style. "Let's cut to the chase, we're all coming with you!" Sonic managed a large smile. Even in the face of over whelming odds, they were all prepared to follow him into battle. Sensing another presence, he turned to face the entrance of the bridge. Everyone suddenly grew silent, following his gaze. Standing in the doorway, his arms folded and eyes set hard against them, was Metal Sonic.

Nobody said anything, a few of their throats going so dry they wouldn't have been able to say anything even if they wanted to.

"Well Metal?" Sonic asked after that tense moment. "You in or not?"

"_Just what am I supposed to think now Sonic?_" Metal Sonic asked angrily. "_For a long time all I thought about was destroying you. Even if that was all put in my head by Mishoal, I can't simply just let it go!_" Sonic himself didn't reply. "_Half of me still wants to see you burning and perhaps I'll indulge its desire after this business is finished._" He turned to walk away. "_Yes I'll be there._" Metal Sonic added one last time before disappearing.

Shadow simply left the others planning and went off on his own as well.

The possibility that he was not the ultimate life form, a question that had been planted in his mind for some time was beginning to bear fruit. What if Krish was right, and Nazo had really been the fruit of Prof. Gerald's labours? That meant that Shadow himself was only half of the equation. That the Professor had created him as a means to an end, never a complete person. A being meant to find the decent of the genetic line he had been created from and to find a suitable host from that line and then merge with him.

Was Nazo the real ultimate life form? The questioning stung the inside of his head like a thousand bees until he could take it no longer. Leaving the company of the others, he strode outside to find some peace in the night air. Instead, all he got was a painful reminder of the struggle had quite literally been born into. Krish' space station was hovering there, the many drones onboard nearly finished in it's repairs. The thing was colossal. It had lain underneath Square for years, rivalling the city in it's sheer size; a graveyard for Black Arms who had sacrificed everything to keep the destroyer from following their comrades. For centuries it drifted, before finally landed on Earth. The survivors became known as gods to the primitive people, but eventually died off.

Everything had been leading up to this, every adventure Sonic or himself had gone through, all lead to this one battle. The Echidna's worshipped Krish and because of it, because of the contempt for other races he installed in them, they were destroyed. Later on, the Project Shadow had been funded by the Foundation organisation to make a new body for him to inhabit. Prof. Gerald got wise to the scheme and set about a plan that would fight against it. He never lived to see his work completed, and neither did Maria.

At the rate those machines were working, the station would be complete tomorrow morning. After that, who knows what would happen. But Shadow could bet that it wouldn't be good news.

Again his mind turned to his own personnel dilemma. Despite everything the others were going through even that loud mouth Sonic, they had a foot rooted firmly on the ground, they knew who they where and what they were fighting for.

Glancing to his side, the hedgehog saw that someone else had come out here for the same reasons he had. It was Tikal, sitting on the tip of the Blue Typhoon looked out across the water to the Mystic Ruins in the distance. She had her back to him and hadn't noticed the hedgehog's presence. She had a companion with her. At her side, his body transparent and hardly visible in the starlight was Chaos. Shadow had only seen the water demon on two occasions and both had been enough for him to recognise the features at once. The brain floating in the middle of a living pile of living water was a dead give away.

"Planning more assaults?" She asked as she heard Shadow's footsteps at her other side. Her gaze remained fixed on the landmass in the distance. Chaos cast a glance up at him, his green eyes emotionless. Shadow cast him a similar look, before sitting down beside her him; his legs dropping over the edge of the ship.

"The others are." He replied, before lying down on his back with his arms behind his head. "My hearts not in it." Chaos as usual said nothing. Instead he turned and gazed out at the far shore with the female Echidna. "I threw everything I had at him and nothing, not even a scratch." Tikal sighed out through her nose.

"And nothing will." She told him. Shadow didn't reply. Tikal had every reason to fear Krish and not just for the terrifying amount of power he displayed. Krish had been her god…or rather the god of her people; and she had watched them walk down a road to greed and territorialism.

It was not Krish's power she feared, but rather Krish himself.

"So this is the end of the world huh?" Tikal didn't answer. She sat there motionless, her watery companion forever at her side, equally as quiet. "Fine."

She looked back at him, her sea blue eyes fixed on his face.

"Fine?" Tikal asked a little in surprise. Chaos remained still. "You welcome it?" he opened an eye and fixed her with a stare. Her face reflected off his eyes and his off hers.

"Quiet frankly I just don't care anymore." He told her after a moment of stagnating silence. "I thought for a while I could live like Sonic does. But that's his life, not mine. My path ended a long time ago, I just didn't know when to give up." Tikal looked a little shocked. "At least when the end comes I can head after Maria at last." Tikal simply leaned over and slapped him hard on the cheek, almost slamming his head into the deck.

"Maria doesn't want to you die you stupid idiot!" Shadow shot up to a sitting position, an angry expression over his face.

"And just how would you know what Maria wants?" Tikal looked like she was going to reply, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. Shadow maintained his glare for a moment, before turning away and sitting over the edge of the ship with his arms balanced on his legs.

"What did she ask you to do?" She asked finally. The black and red hedgehog looked back over his shoulder. "What did Maria ask you to do for this world?" her words send memories unbidden through his mind. The ARK was in front of them and it had already entered the atmosphere. Despite their best efforts, Sonic and Shadow were having extreme difficultly from keeping it from crashing.

In that one moment of desperation, a door had been opened and Shadow had seen her face. Smiling gently, her eyes alight with youthful innocence. She had told him to help the planet, to help people realize their dreams and ambitions and they couldn't do that if they were destroyed. Tikal was trying to apply the same situation here, but Shadow was not about to have it. He was going to live for a very long time and was he expected to rush to the aid of a world that seemed to have an apocalypse warning every other week? Was he destined to continue Sonic's job for generations after he died? "Just what the heck would you fight for Shadow?"

"I don't know anymore." He replied promptly, pulling his knees up and balancing his folded arms on them. Tikal mused to herself that perhaps he had engineered this conversation to remove her from her own dilemma, but the serious expression on his face made her doubt it.

"Neither do I." She stated. Chaos, as if sensing something in her voice, turned into a less solid liquid and fades away through the cracks in the deck, leaving the two of them alone. "The world just seems so stale today." Shadow nodded in agreement. What either of them were feeling went way past being world weary. Right now, both of them were utterly sick of the sight of the world. "How many girls have you kissed Shadow?" The question came so suddenly that the hedgehog nearly tipped over the side of the ship. He stared at her with wide eyes, his face set in a confused expression. Her own was quite innocent. Her tone had been so depressed a minute ago, and then she came out with something like that. "Well?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"I..er.." He began, actually smattering uncharacteristically. "Well…none." Tikal blinked as if surprised.

"Not one?" She asked. Thinking about it seriously for a moment, Shadow realized that, no in fact he hadn't had the opportunity. Or if he was honest much motivation. The very notion of courting anyone hadn't even crossed his mind. "You plan on dying before you get at least one kiss from a girl?" She asked just as innocently. "Because I don't plan on dying before I kiss someone at least." Before he could add anything more, she leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against his.

Shadow was left paralysed for a few moments, before hormones Gerald has failed to remove from his system took over and he kissed back. All of a sudden, the world didn't seem so stale to the taste anymore.

Tikal gently broke away and Shadow was left staring at her memorized. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires at him, shining brighter as her smile radiated up at him.

"Was that so I can die knowing what it was like?" He asked, regaining some of his dignity. But not enough top prevent a powerful blush spreading over his cheeks. Her smile faded, replaced by a flat expression.

"You can be as dumb as Sonic sometimes." She told him. Shadow managed to fade his blush to regain his usual cold look. "We're going to face The Destroyer together, we're going to win and then…" The female Echidna looked up towards the stars. "The sky's the limit."

"I thought the world was stale?"

"It just needed a little spice." She gently touched his cheek with her hand.

* * *

-

The Armageddon had taken on a lot of danger, all combined from the battles it had endured, the crash onto this insignificant little world and even the erosion of time. But it was nothing that the drones couldn't handle. Silently, the Destroyer waited on the top of the station as the bio-machines got to work. The moon was high in the sky and the night was wearing on. By now, half of the repairs had been finished.

The Armageddon was a magnificent vessel despite it's creators and worthy of his presence.

-

(In Chris' voice)

What chance do we have now? Even Nazo couldn't beat Krish! He must have some weakness right? If Krish isn't stopped, not only will the Earth be destroyed, but the entire Universes will fall under his iron fist. Dark squares of against light as Queen Illumina steps in to stop the destroyer. But even with aid from Maginaryworld, can such a being as Krish be put down? It's time to find out, next time on Sonic X; The Final Battle, part 1. Don't miss it!


	59. Episode 30

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 30: Final battle, part 1

* * *

-

Okida gave an impressed whistle.

Apparently, G.U.N had made a few advancements in Mech designs while he had been away. Three repair stations stood before him, each one over fifty feet tall and housing a Walker of nearly equal size. The repair stations themselves were new, a collection of scaffolding and vehicles underneath that reached up the side of the machines to do work on the highest reaches. When he left, the walkers had been small enough for them to sit down for technicians and mechanics to do work, but this was a whole new generation of robotic machines. And what a bunch of machines they were!

"Not bad eh?" A voice asked from beside him. Okida cast a glance there to find a technicians standing there gazing up at the Walkers with admiration. He was young, hardly even eighteen; probably even less. His eyes were bright blue and hair chocolate brown, most of it hidden under a bright orange cap. "And these are all for you Major." He added after a moment, handing the vampire bat a clipboard with a requisition slip on it. Okida chuckled to himself at the thought of those additions and nearly started drooling.

"Kid in a candy store." Topaz remarked flatly, joining her superior officer's side as they approached the Walkers, which stood rigidly to attention even as the work was still being done on them.

"This is the G-001: Codename Anubis." The technician announced, gesturing to the Mech on their far left. Okida gazed up longingly, his eyes almost watering at the sight of it. This Walker was suited for desert combat; its armour painted in military gold and brown. It had the basic shape of the Yahger, but was sufficiently wider with more weaponry on the side arms and on the shoulders. The front was flat apart from the cockpit that stuck out in the middle with a large piece of metallic armour shielding the underside. Its legs were Bi-pedal and had extra armour, every joint protected by interacting metal plates that probably weighted a ton. This was obviously a firepower based walker and not designed for speed. On top of its body was a sheet of armour that slid down to protect the top of the cockpit and this was apparently what gave the machine it's name; two pieces of metal shot out the top like dog's ears, resembling the Egyptian god of the underworld. "It doesn't move too fast, but it's the strongest firepower Mech the G.U.N army has the moment." The technician directed their attention to the machine gun turrets on either side of the shoulders between the missile launcher pads. "And the latest effort of the boys down in experimental engineering, the laser cannons." There were two more turrets on the front under the cockpit. G.U.N had tried to perfect the laser as a practical military weapon for years but found the technology tricky to duplicate. Only recently had their technicians been making any headway with it.

"For those of you who prefer Stealth to confrontation, we present to you the G-002: Nova." The Walker in the middle was obviously an evolution of the Raptor, the sleek design with long bi-pedal legs without heavy armour was a dead giveaway. But there were also many differences to make it more then unique. Its centre body was far more streamlined and painted in jungle military colours, a blurred mixture of greens and black. The feet had claws instead of a flat surface and looked like those of a bird, capable of grasping objects and even lashing out with them. The big new edition to the design was the pair of laser cannons concealed at the front. This Walker was clearly very fast and with a minimal radar signature. If it didn't kick up a ruckus, it could get behind enemy lines and be causing no end of grief before anyone knew it was there.

"Not bad." Topaz remarked, giving the Mech a look over. "You mind if I have this one? I did alright in the Raptor Mech." Okida nodded once.

"It's all yours. Just don't break it. These cost a lot of money." Topaz managed a short grin.

"You'll like this last one." The tech told the Major was they approached the last repair station and the Mech Walker therein. Okida cast a glance up at it and immediately saw that this Mech was off a complete new design. This had four legs like the Turtle Walker but was clearly not an artillery based weapon. It was far too streamlined for that. "Its armour is bullet proof, missile proof and has an extremely high impact tolerance against laser rifle fire." The technician went on as the Major slowly approached the machine, fascinated by it. The folded sheets of metal on its back, when he got close enough to see, were wings. The cockpit was at the front and concealed behind two slanting pieces of metal that angled forward like a bird's beck. "Yes Major, it's a flying type Walker they came up with about a weak after you left. We call it, G-003: Albatross."

* * *

-

Morning was quickly making its way towards the present time and it had been agreed they would attack the Armageddon station at dawn. The sun was already beginning to brighten the sky from beyond the horizon. It wouldn't be long now before it was time to the curtain to rise.

Sonic would be lying if he said that he wasn't nervous. Fact of the matter was, just about anything could happen today. That Station could destroy everything he had fought so hard to protect and much more and it was in the hands of a being that had tremendous power of his own and wouldn't hesitate to use both to decimate everything in his path.

This was going to be the toughest battle of his life thus far and that fact refused to let him throw off the anxiety that he usually could. The facts and reality stung at him mercilessly, refusing to leave him alone. Eventually, he found himself doubting that their efforts, all of their combined might was going to be enough to stop the Destroyer.

Even though it was still an hour before dawn, Sonic could tell it was going to be one of those hot days where the air had no breeze and stagnated around you. Great, so even the weather was trying to make him feel uncomfortable now? That was just what he needed now.

Grunting, he peeled back the bandages from around his head and chest. Mobians naturally healed far faster than humans, but he was pushing it a little. His ribs hadn't quite repaired themselves yet and gave him a little discomfort. He decided to leave the wrappings on his arms and legs for a while longer. They gave him that bad boy, rugged look. If he was going to save the world, or die for it; the least he could do was look good doing it.

He hadn't seen either Shadow or Metal Sonic since late last night. The robotic hedgehog just seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth and the last time Sonic had glanced Shadow, the black and red hedgehog had had the rarest of things on his face; a smile. Shadow never smiled of his own free will, so what exactly had cheered him up so much?

"Sonic. Can I have a word?" Looking back, the blue hedgehog saw Knuckles approach him. The Echidna had been busy helping Tails introduce the Master Emerald back into the Energy core of the Blue Typhoon without having a major blow out in the process. Without Eggman to help them it was a tricky business.

"Sure what is it?" He asked, looking confused at Knuckles' suddenly serious expression.

"If….If I…. I don't make it today…" Knuckles started with a very straight face. "I want you to return the Master Emerald to Angel Island." Sonic sighed loudly.

"You're not going to die Knuckles." The blue hedgehog told him. "You're the fifth person who's come to me with a last request in the past three hours."

"Do you really expect any less from us?" The Echidna asked with emotionless eyes, fixing Sonic with a stare. Sonic remained still for a moment, before shaking his head with a sigh.

"No I guess not."

Big as usual, either completely oblivious to the coming danger or not caring, was sitting on the ground a short distance away from the rest armada trying his luck with a new lure. What he had failed to do nowhere was pick a suitable place to start fishing. It looked very doubtful he was going to find any big fish in a pond. Froggy seemed to like it though, leaping off Big's shoulder to swim around in the cooling water.

The ammunition fell into place with a satisfying click and Omega spun his barrel shaped arm around to test it. All missiles and bullets used up during the past battle had now been replaced and the new upgrades G.U.N had equipped him with seemed to be perfect working order.

"Remember, you're not a machine designed with flight in mind." Chris told him, checking the small Jet engine on the back of the battle android was fixed to the metal shell properly. "This'll only keep you in the air for a whole five minutes before you'll have to land again for the engine to re-charge."

"Acknowledged." Omega replied with a short nod before walking off, his metallic footsteps shaking the floor a little. Sam smiled briefly. His nephew really was good at all this science stuff, in fact he was getting to be as good as Chuck at it. Speaking of which, Chuck himself was still at the microscope examining pieces after piece of that organic sample Sonic brought him. Jailos their Black Arm friend was asleep in a chair nearby. She'd been trying to help Chuck find some kind of weakness in the Destroy's cellular structure they might be able to use to their advantage. So far, their efforts had gone without reward.

"You should get some sleep Chuck." Sam told the old man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Before the fighting starts and it gets too noisy."

"Right now, sleep is the last thing on my mind." Chuck replied leaning back from the microscope for the first time in half an hour. "There's something hidden here, I just can't see what. It's hidden in the genetic coding, something obvious that I'm overlooking." He groaned up towards the ceiling. "If only I'd paid more attention in Biology class then I'd have it by now." Sam let him be after that. Everyone needed something to keep them going, at least until the actual fighting started. It was their way of dealing with the inevitability of a fate they could not escape. The question of whether they would live or die seemed to be alive in the very walls of the Blue Typhoon and in everyone's eyes. They were simply asking the question every second even without opening their mouths to utter the words.

Tails found Cosmo outside on the deck of the ship looking up towards the sky. No breeze appeared today so her hair hung lifelessly around her shoulders. Her back was to him and he couldn't see her face. Slowly, he approached and the second he put a single foot forward she turned around. The expression was unreadable, flat and emotionless. The young fox drew his foot back and stood there before her without making a single sound.

"Why didn't they listen to me Tails?" She asked after a moment. The young fox raised an eyebrow. "I can't help thinking that perhaps if my family had listened to me when I first told them of the visions then perhaps all this could have been avoided." Tails didn't reply to that. He wasn't sure how to. He did open his mouth to say something, but as not a single word came to mind he shut it again. "I was given the visions and images for a reason. I'd give anything to know what it is." So far, all she had been able to do was warn people of impending danger and even that hadn't been enough to stop all this from coming to pass. Her first thoughts when the first visions made itself known to her had been for the seer to travel to Earth and prevent the darkness from ever rising. Now, she reasoned out, she knew she was never meant to do that.

If being a warning had not been her purpose, then just what the hell was it?

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you Cosmo." Tails stated suddenly and on impulse. The green haired seer looked up in surprise at the comment. The young fox stood there with the most serious expression he had on his face. "I'll protect you no matter how strong Krish is." There was silence for a moment, before Cosmo shook her head.

"You can't win."

"I don't have to." Tails replied. "Just do enough to make sure you're alright. That I promise." Cosmo stood there with wide eyes, surprise plain on her face before the sparkling beginnings of tears collected in her eyes. Without a word, he let herself drop into Tails' arms and she quietly sobbed. Tails just held her there, his arms around her shoulders.

At the present moment, what else could he do?

* * *

-

Vector reared his head back and let out a tremendously loud bleach, one of such magnitude that it shook all the tables in the Blue Typhoon's cafeteria. Several glass cups fell off surfaces in the kitchen area with a loud crash. Espio sat there with wide eyes for several seconds; one hand holding a fork and another the salt. Charmee had been scarred out of his skin and was hiding behind Rei, who after a second started clapping.

"Nice…I've always though global warning came from factory and traffic emissions. Turns out it's just the gaseous bowels of our leader here!" Vector smacked the flying squirrel around the back of the head as he cleaned the end of his snout up with a napkin.

"Just where is everyone else?" The crocodile asked, trying to change the subject; looking around the cafeteria and finding it empty apart from Chaotix themselves and sitting at the far side on his own, Fang. The weasel was sitting up rigidity to attention; caught off guard by the thunderous sound. His hands shaking slightly. "Isn't anyone hungry?"

"After that, I'm not sure I am." Espio remarked, placing his fork and salt back down at the table and pushing his plate away from himself.

"Been years and his manners haven't improved the slightest." Fang muttered to himself, remembering Vector's control of gas had been just as poor even when he himself was a member of the agency. Loosing his appetite, he pushed the half finished bagel away from himself and made do with the bottle of alcohol, taking a very long swig. To undertake something like this, there was no way you could be sober. If you expected to charge into battle where the fate of the world was at stake and your own life, it was better, in Fang's experience; to be pissed out of your mind.

He and Espio had said nothing concerning the vendetta. There wasn't much left to say in any chase. It didn't matter right now and when it did, few words would be passed between them.

"What I can't get over is Okida letting us have that Spider Mech in the hold." Beck began, tapping his finger on the table. Once the Major heard the President was to hand over some new Walker's to Freelance Division, he simply let Chaotix borrow the mechanical spider he took from the Machine Federation. In truth, he was quite glad to be rid of it, being nearly scared to death of spiders. By now, the news of his phobia had spread and quite a few of them were laughing behind his back.

"Yeah…but do any of us know how to pilot the damn thing?" Espio asked with levelled eyes. Vector looked like he was about to answer, thought about it, then shut his mouth.

"Wait." Rei began, his expression suddenly turning troubled. Slowly, he stood up and turned to face the window to his left. From here, he had a direct line of sight to the Armageddon station. From the outsider observers view point, everything appeared to be perfectly normal. There seemed to be nothing wrong with the scene at all. "There's something wrong." The squirrel persisted, putting a hand to his head. Chaotix knew this. Rei had the power of precognition and often it warned him of impending danger.

"Hey Look!" Charmee cried out, jabbing a finger. The ground just below the giant station seemed to be moving.

"Krish is attacking us?" Sonic exclaimed in utter surprised. Rolling towards them was a swarm of insects, each one about twice the side of the average tank and perched on top of four bi-pedal legs. Like spiders they swarmed towards the armada, pincers held out at the front, ready to slice at anything that moved. Clearly the Destroyer was attempting to by more time to repair the Armageddon. He was going to let them waste their time fighting these things and by the time they were done, he'd open fire with his Eclipse Cannon and wipe them out.

The ships were signalled to take off and they quickly did so, rising up above ground level. The Egg Fleet ships under the command of the Giant Wing floated up as well and quickly the entire armada was above the reach of the drones.

Which it turned out had been exactly what Krish had wanted them to do. As soon as they reached a certain height, a barrage of intense laser fire lashed out at them from the Armageddon, bombarding nearly every ship in the armada, several Egg fleet cruisers catching fire and exploding almost instantly. As if that hadn't been bad enough, it turned out the drones below had a trick of their own. Their backs flew open with a spray of organic matter and insect like wings shot out. Like bees they took to the air, shooting up towards the fleet.

Commander Rikoye signalled with one hand and instantly the ships released their Dragon fighters, the genetically engineered life forms soured on to meet with the predecessors units head on. The Dragons were far more advanced and faster, designers specifically for warfare while the Drones were used mostly for repair work and defence. The flying reptiles tore into them with ease, shredding through the combination of flesh and metal. As soon as they did however they crashed into the laser fire from the station. It struck down a few and the others soured back to a safe distance.

"Is that the best that station can do?" The President asked, wondering if the battleship deserved the title' Armageddon.'

"Unfortunately no." Rikoye replied.

The Station, the side facing them at least, began to pull itself open, the colossal walls rearing up and arching backwards to reveal a large arched pit inside. With a loud groaning, a large metallic needle lanced out fro the middle with its tip glinting brightly in the sunlight. Slowly, the station rotated around to the needle was pointing directly at the armada. "Prepare for evasive action." Rikoye announced and suddenly a high impact blast soured out from the needle and screamed towards the fleets. There hadn't been any warning at all, it had just simply fired. And it kept firing blast after blast, striking hard against ships, sending several cascading down towards the ground in flames.

"Woah that's hot stuff!" Sonic exclaimed as the Blue Typhoon soured towards the front of the armada, Tails at the helm, trying to get close enough to the Armageddon to let the blue hedgehog jump on. But with fire power of that magnitude against them it seemed impossible. They had to keep this distance or risk being blown out of the sky.

With a shockwave following behind it, a blur shot across the Typhoon's bow, drawing the fire of the station towards it. The Mech flying past them was unlike anything G.U.N had conceived before. It had the basic body shape of all their other bi-pedal walkers, but this one had huge wings on either side with a jet engine at every joint. It resembled a jet place rather than a Walker.

"I'll keep it busy. You just get in close." Okida told them over the communications system as the Albatross soured out, shooting through the air at a staggering speed. The Armageddon tried to shoot it down, but even the giant station's weapons weren't fast enough to score a direct hit.

Krish watched from the command centre of the station as the Blue Typhoon drew closer, pulling away from the fighting engaging the other ships. The drones were serving their purpose, keeping the fleet pinned in one location long enough for the stations plasma weapons to get a lock on, but to finish the job required a little more muscle power. His red eyes narrowing, he lifted his left hand over the central command console and instantly the ancient machinery blared to life.

"What the heck?" Sonic exclaimed, darting out onto the front deck of the ship as the Armageddon began to move again, a thin piece of the wall at its middle slowly opening up to reveal a good hundred runways that projected outwards with one sudden thrust. Instantly thousands upon thousands of flying machines came launching out and flying towards them. An entire armada of small fighter drones, two sets of bat like wings keeping them souring through the air. Similar to the drones in that they were part mechanical and part organic but were shaped more like the Black Arm Dragons.

The mass majority of their numbers soured past the Blue Typhoon and carried on towards the fleet to aid the other drones engaging the ships. At least thirty of them descended upon the Blue Typhoon and started attacked the Egg Shield surrounding it with vicious clawing and biting.

"They can handle it; we've got to get to that Station!" Tails remarked, pouring the Typhoon into overdrive and rocketing towards the Armageddon as Okida's Albatross mech did a flip in the air and soured back towards the fleet.

"Here." Shadow began, tossing a small device to Sonic, who nearly didn't catch the thing. It was an earphone of some kind with a microphone that swung around on the front. Shadow was already wearing one in his right ear. Sonic nodded and quickly attached to his own ear. From it, he could hear Tails giving orders from the bridge.

"I'm going to get as close to the Station as I can without being hit by the weapons, but the rest is up to you guys."

"Roger that." Sonic replied. There was a sudden loud thud and the two hedgehog's looked back to see Metal Sonic rise up from a crouch behind them. The Drones outside the shield tried repeatedly to crack it open and all the robotic hedgehog did in response was raise a hand towards them. Several energy bolts leapt from his palm and smacked right into them. The first blew apart in a spray of red while the other two simple caught fire and fell down towards the ground clad in smoke. The others retreated, but not before Metal Sonic's blasts brought down several more of their number.

"We're ready, let's go!" Amy began, following Vector, Espio, Rouge and Fang out onto the deck after them. The trap door in the deck slid open and the platform rose up, revealing the Spider Mech they took from the Machine Federation, Beck and Rei at the controls and Charmee inside trying to play the game _'what does this button do?_' Omega was standing in front of it, both arms already raised in combat mode.

"You honestly think it's going to be that easy?" Krish asked, watching the Typhoon get closer and closer. One insignificant little ship was not going to stop him.

"The shield will hold for as long I can manage the energy flow." Knuckles told Tails over the intercom from the energy core of the Blue Typhoon. Not only did they have the Master Emerald to fuel the ship, but all seven Chaos Emeralds as well. But even with this tremendous energy backing it, the ship was being struck at by all sides and with Knuckles acting as controller; it was beginning to tax him. Sweat was running down the side of his face as the steady glow from the Master Emeralds started to pulsate.

Throwing the helm to the side, Tails brought the Blue Typhoon almost level with the surface of the Armageddon station. From here, they could appreciate just how large this thing actually was. It was like a twin of the ARK, a second Space Colony. Clouds, even massive thunderheads were breaking over it like water of a shore.

"Here we go!" Sonic announced and then he held his hand out towards Shadow, who nodded once and held his hand out as well.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" The air was filled with green for a moment before all those standing on the deck of the Typhoon disappeared, quite literally, in a flash.

* * *

-

The Armageddon was being filmed by news channels all around the world. The fighting was broadcast live on every single channel to the entire world. Scarlet Garcia, the journalist who had had privilege to report on the happenings ever since Doctor Eggman first made himself known was beginning to think that a change in career might be good for her health.

"Our contact in the G.U.N. military has been able to identify this colossal structure here as the Armageddon, a colossal space station that crash landed on Earth eons ago." She spoke into her mike. Her cameraman was having a hard time keeping the camera steady on this ridge some distance from the battlefield. "The ships fighting alongside those of the G.U.N Fleet are vessels belonging to the Black Arms, which we can confirm at this point are beings of Extra-Terrestrial origin." There was no point in keeping the media blackout on Aliens anymore. People were **_already _**running around like headless chickens and they weren't that stupid that they wouldn't notice the ships clearly not of Earth origin in the skies above their heads. "And right now we still can't…what the hell is that!" The cameraman nearly dropped the equipment before quickly letting the camera follow her gaze up towards the top of the colossal space station.

A large trap door on the top of the Armageddon swung open and with a loud whirring sound, two doors swing out into the air before finally sliding into place on either side. A lift rose up to take their place and it was then the world got their first view of the Destroyer. Krish was standing directly in the centre of it, fire burning along his shoulders and eyes glowing blood red. Any church going man instantly dropped to his knees and started praying at that moment, confronted with this horned figure with blood red eyes.

The lift carried on rising until it was a good few meters above the surface. From here, the Destroyer could see the ground far below, the mountains in the distance and the fleets before him.

"As you can see, some new being is in command of the Armageddon, at least at first appearances. We've yet to put an ID to it, but we'll provide all the details as they become available." Scarlet stuttered with wide eyes, her gaze never leaving that horrific sight for a moment.

"You honestly think I need the Eclipse Cannon to finish you?" The Destroyer asked, raising a hand spreading his cloven hand out wide. Drawing his arm back, Krish tensing his muscles before throwing it forward unleashing an attack that burnt through the sky like the northern lights and struck with cataclysmic force against the armada. Ships caught at the front were incinerated at once, not even a simple inch of smouldering metal was left to fall to the ground. Those caught in the backlash were sent cascading down towards the ground, hardly able to hold themselves together. In one single blast, the Destroy crippled the fleets. The Egg Fleet was reduced to a pathetic scattering of it's battle vessel and a huge bite had been taken out of the G.U.N forces.

"My god!" Scarlet proclaimed, her camera-man frozen to the spot in horror, even when he dropped his camera.

Krish watched the falling ships with glee.

"I'll destroy you all myself." He muttered between bouts of sadistic laughter. "The Eclipse Cannon's in reserve for your planet." Slowly he raised another arm, calling forth another ball of green fire into his hand.

Tails watched from the Blue Typhoon as the top of the Armageddon began to twinkle like a huge green star. This was impossible…Krish couldn't possible have that kind of power. It was a scientific impossibility.

Cosmo forced her eyes closed. Their ship was directly in the path of the blast, there was no way they could avoid it now. "Goodbye Black Arms it's been fun!" The sky was one again ablaze with green first that burnt and twisted through the early morning air and soured at the Black Arm Mother ship, screaming in desperation to hit and destroy the colossal vessel.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Rikoye commanded, but by now it was far too late. The ship was too large to move that fast. That blast was going to hit them and absolutely nothing the Black Arms could do was going to stop it. The Black Arm commander shook his head in frustration, before turning to look his coming death head on.

The attack never reached its target.

"What!" Krish demanded as the green fire suddenly dissipated into nothing just short of the Black Arm mother ship; sky above them all was sudden alight with a bright aurora, a twisting mass of colour so bright it lit up the earth as if the sun had risen early.

Cosmo looked up with eyes, knowing full well what this was. There was only one thing that could be, a dimension warp gate and to produce that effect; the gate could only lead to one place. Emerging once again into this dimension came the Queen of Maginaryworld, her wings spreading out wide as she floated through the gateway. Her size was colossal, a giant flying over the surface of the earth like a colossus before finally putting her feet down on the ground, the earth shaking under her footsteps.

And it was then that everything changed, as if some cosmic force had clicked its fingers. Like a tidal-wave striking her head in the face, all of Cosmo's fears and anxieties were swept away and in that single instant. She knew what she was here for. She knew why she had been given the visions and warned of all this before hand.

It was staring her right in the face and had been all along.

She found herself set apart from space and time in some far away place, a place she did not recognise. The floor was made of glass and the walls a dark grey metal, all interwoven with complex machinery. A human was standing before her, at first she mistook him for Eggman; but this one was far older with a grey moustache and a good deal of wrinkles.

"Who are you?" Cosmo asked, looking up at him. His eyes where hidden behind a small pair of dark spectacles and his face muscles tightened into a very Eggman like squint.

"My name is Gerald." He replied simply. "I'm appearing to you now because I need your help."

"My help?" The young seer asked with confused, wide eyes. "For what?" Gerald ran his fingers through his thick moustache.

"Years ago I discovered the truth about those who financed my experiments, and the terrible purpose of the force that controlled them." He began, then hesitated as if unsure of how to continue. "I knew I could never allow such evil designs to be completed, so I set down plans to ensure their defeat even in the event of my own death. On Earth I created Shadow, the guardian of Earth and on Mobius I gave to a dear friend a gift to allow him to fight the evil there. With the worlds now merged as I foresaw, the opportunity for either great good or great evil lies in wait." He sighed out load. "I'm going to be asking a lot of you, but you are the only one who can give the Shade or the Speedster any chance of success."

"Me?" Cosmo asked in an almost hushed whisper. Gerald nodded once.

"It's why you where called." He replied with a short smile and suddenly Cosmo found herself back on the Bridge of the Blue Typhoon and suddenly everything was clear.

"Greetings Destroyer." Illumina began, turning to face Krish; who compared to her in size was miniscule. A moment later, several more from Maginaryworld followed the mistress out through the dimensional gate. A small band of her elite guards, her finniest warriors and all lead by Lumina Flowlight and Void himself.

"Void?" Tails began, looking confused as the small imp like creature dropped down to the front deck of the Blue Typhoon. Void looked back through the glass to the bridge, smiled, before leaping back into the air to tackle one of Krish's drones as he flew past.

All the others did the same, the instant they emerged, they went head to head with the immense army attacking the armada while Illumina herself stood in the presence of the Destroyer. The goddess' size was nothing compared to that of the immense Armageddon but even so her presence on the battlefield threw a huge shadow over Krish's whole plan.

"Queen Illumina." Krish hissed, the fire around his shoulders burning even more intently. "My return to the universe will be glorified if I travel holding your head aloft." The queen managed a smirk.

"I doubt you'd be able to carry my head. You're far too petite." She announced, gesturing to the utter difference in size to them both. Krish snorted loudly.

"Easily solved!"

Holding one hand up, the Destroyer called forth more energy, drawing it down his arm and into his chest. As it gathered, his size began to increase. Slowly at first, the more rapidly he grew; his body swelling up and out. The whole thing could not have taken a few more seconds, but in that time his size quickly rivalled here and then spurt beyond it, showing her superior in size by a good head and shoulders, the tips of his horns piercing the clouds above.

Scarlet grabbed the camera herself when her camera man ran away and filmed the whole thing, her face transfixed in utter shock. What was happening here and being broadcast live to the world was utterly unbelievable.

The Destroyer slid off the side of the Armageddon and landed with a deafeningly loud thud on the ground. Leaving giant foot prints in the ground, Krish slowly marched over towards her, the fire around his shoulders burning like an intense furnace.

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: Queen Illumina

Description: The ruler of the Imperial court of Maginaryworld,considered a goddess by her people.


	60. Episode 30, part 2

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

Flip card 2:

Name: Nazo the hedgehog

Description: Turely is he Prof. Gerald's legacy, or is even Krish the Destroyer wrong?

* * *

- 

His reflexes lightning fast even at this large a size, Krish grabbed Illumina by the shoulders and tossed her violently down into the ground. She landed with a deafening crash that shook the earth beneath them so much it felt like an earthquake. Before the goddess could rise, Krish brought his tail around sharply and tried to impale her on the spikes on its tip. Rolling to the side crushing a load of trees in the process, Illumina waded out into the large bay between the canyon that had once been Station Square and the Mystic Ruins. Krish held up his hand and instantly green fire was burning around her, even over the water. Everything with her sight seemed to be ablaze, slowly turning to ash before her.

Her eyes burned bright blue and she fired two beams of blue energy from her eyes, striking Krish on the chest. The Destroyer stumbled backwards a few paces, before righting himself and throwing both hands forward; an unbelievable powerful blast screamed forward bathing the goddess in a green light before it struck. Illumina held up her hands and forged a shield around her body, allowing the flames to flow on past her without doing herself any harm.

Unfortunately, it didn't work on physical attacks. The colossal tail came flying around, striking her hard on the stomach. Tossed up through the air, the giant goddess flapped her wings to right herself before firing several more blasts straight at the Destroyer.

Cosmo watched the fight from the Blue Typhoon, realization burning in her eyes. Everything was so clear before her, as if someone had thrown a switch and there was light. Tails sat transfixed at the helm, watching the battling giants with a transfixed expression of utter confusion on his face. Without hesitated, Cosmo ran up to the pilot's seat and began tugging on his arm.

"Tails…Tails listen to me!" She nearly screamed at him. "I need your help!" The young fox blinked once, coming out of his shock induced paralysis. Before she could finish, the bridge window cracked itself open and one of Krish' Dragons drones dropped down to the floor with a crash. Glass flew everywhere as he raised a claw and struck down towards Cosmo. At the last second, Tails pushed her out of the way. The claw tore through his fur and into the flesh on his back.

At that moment, Void burst down through the hole in the glass after the cybernetic creature. He flicked his right wrist and a sabre appeared in his hand. Landing on the top of the beast, he drove his blade down though it's neck.

"Tails!" Cosmo began, helping the young fox up, finding the fur on his back stained with blood.

"I'm fine…" He managed, grinding his pain against the pain. A loud screech erupted from the sky and another Dragon came down, smashing a large metal claw straight into Void's back, smashing the small imp like creature to the floor. Void somersaulted back to his feet before drawing his sabre again.

"What are the two of you waiting for?" He asked over his shoulder. "RUN!"

* * *

- 

Krish grabbed Illumina by the neck, before dunking her violently under the water trying to drown her. At the last second however, the goddess seized his wrist and threw him off her with suspiring strength. Staggering backwards, the Destroyer scrapped his claws along through the ground to slow himself down. Illumina went on the offensive, striking at him with a vicious and unrelenting succession of energy blasts. They struck him all the way down his body, causing him tilt further and further backwards before the goddess hit him directly with a colossal punch to the face and finally he toppled backwards and crashed to the ground.

Scarlet had to run with her camera as one of the Destroyer's hands came crashing down, nearly squashing her under it. Illumina held up her left hand and called forth a large dark white spear with a barbed end. Grasping it with both hands, she drove it down hard towards her opponent's chest.

Krish's eyes snapped open at the last second and a hand shot up, grabbing the tip of the spear and preventing it from stabbing. Illumina tried to force it down, to end it now, but the Destroyer's strength was too much even for her. With only sudden push, Illumina was thrown clear and Krish took the spear before himself. Holding it like a javelin, he turned towards the falling goddess before tossing it. Like a missile it soured through the air and struck Illumina in the stomach; stabbing through her body with the tip emerging out the other side.

Screaming in pain, Illumina fell to the ground. With one sharp tug, she tore the weapon out of her flesh and tried to heal the wound. Krish didn't give her the chance. Holding up both hands, he consumed her body with green fire, burning her and the ground around in a towering inferno.

"Mistress!" Lumina called out from the battle. The queen's elite turned to watch the Destroy sadistically burn their goddess. Krish kept pouring more fire onto her body as she screamed; desperately trying to call up a defence.

Loosing interest, the Destroyer lowered his hands and finally the full scale of the devastation was revealed as the fire died away. Queen Illumina lay there, reduced back to her normal size. Most of her clothes had been incinerated and her skin and hair badly scorched. She lay in the centre of a burnt wasteland, a lifeless puppet with cut strings.

"He…actually beat her?" Void asked with a stunned expression on his face. He had heard of the Destroyer's ultimate strength, but this was beyond his worst nightmares. He hadn't thought it possibly to out do Illumina in strength. Yet Krish had proved it possible and with ease! The cybernetic Dragon came at him from behind and focusing his anger into his fighting form, Void turned and jabbed his sabre down its throat.

* * *

- 

"Ok boys. Time to earn our pay!" Vector directed and instantly Chaotic got stuck into the business of tearing the inside of the Armageddon apart, blasting or smashing anything that looked more important than a wall. The Spider-Mech with Beck at the controls was crashing through everything in sight, doing tremendous damage, stamping through walls and floors, tearing apart machines left right and centre.

Metal Sonic raised his hands and began striking hard against the stations vulnerable insides, everything in range catching fire. Anger and rage guided his movements. Krish had played him for a fool from the beginning and now it was pay back time. Aiding him in his task of demolition was Omega, whose missiles were filling the air as they riddled the walls, floor and ceiling with holes. Rising his left arm, Omega converting his claws into machine gun mode and began ripping the machinery apart with intense barrages of bullets.

"Here comes the welcoming committee!" Fang announced as a door on the far side of their level fell inwards and then dozens of Drones, cybernetic insects armed with huge pincers came marching out toward them. The mercenary raised the two rifles he was holding in both hands and riddled the cy-borg with shots, causing it to collapse to the floor. But the others kept coming, a steady march of metal and flesh coming straight at them.

Amy swung her hammer around, sending several of them colliding into each other before smashing them against a wall. One of them snapped at her with a pair of metal pincers nearly slicing of her legs.

An energy blast rang out and Amy dusted as it struck them, blowing at least five of them into disfigured pieces.

"Are you ok?" Nazo asked, hovering next to the pink hedgehog. Sonic and Shadow had merged on the Chaos Control over to the Armageddon and had been doing the most damage.

"Yeah I'm fine." Amy replied, before picking up her hammer and getting back to work. For half an hour now they'd been hacking away at the inside of the thing. But the station was just so larger and expansive, it seemed like their efforts were little more than pin pricks to it. They needed to find the Eclipse Cannon on board and destroy it before Krish had any notions of firing the thing.

Nazo had fears of his own right now however.

Shadow's own lamentations were passed onto him and Sonic had been having thoughts of his own on the subject.

Was he really Prof. Gerald's legacy, sent here to destroy Krish, the source of all evil in the Professor's life? Was that all he was, a tool to be used for a common end like Shadow thought he was, with no purpose or point after he stopped the Destroyer? He honestly didn't like that possibility.

"Hey, now is _NOT _the time to day dream!" Brought out of his thoughts, Nazo looked over and Espio tossed several shuriken through the air. The throwing stars embedded themselves in the head of one of the drones. The cybernetic creature convulsed before collapsing to the floor with a loud crash.

"Come on boys!" Vector called over, leading his agency members into the fray as a huge load of insect drones came right at them. The Spider mech brought its front legs forward and several drones went flying, smashed to pieces against the side of a wall.

* * *

- 

Illumina wasn't moving. She simply lay there in a middle of a wasteland that burned with patches of green fire as the shadow of the Destroyer loomed over her broken body. The wound in her side, made by her own spear as still there and she was bleeding heavily from it.

"Pitiful." Krish muttered to himself, glaring down at the defeated angel in contempt; the red eyes fixed directly on her. "And this was the Imperial leader of Maginaryworld?"

Without warning Illumina's eyes snapped open and suddenly the sky was alight with the light of an aurora. A beam lanced through the air and the light and struck the Destroyer hard across his chest tearing a huge gorge through the flesh. Screeching loudly. Krish stumbled backwards his footsteps causing small earthquakes. Illumina kept up her assault, a relentless beam of energy cutting through muscle; trying to rip it's way to the Destroyer's heart.

"Tell me Brother of the Dooms eye, your fame stretches across star systems, spiral arms and even dimensions so let me ask you; exactly how far does your power extend?" The Goddess asked, forcing more power through her eyes, turning to burn the Destroyer with her gaze. The distance between the two of them light up like a starlit sky.

"Why bother telling?" he asked, anger burning in his eyes. "When I can just show you?" His body consumed by flames, the blast Illumina was trying to use was forced off and away from Krish's chest. The goddess tried desperately to defend herself, but the oncoming rush of fire was too much, an unstoppable tsunami of flames that crashed through any defence and struck against her heard.

A shield flying up around her body, Illumina threw all of her strength into maintaining it; fleeing all her power slip away as the flames flowed mere inches away from her. A hideous laughter broke through the air and out of the fire came a huge hand, talons outstretched. It had her in an iron grip before she could defend herself, lifting her high into the air so her head was level with an enormous red eye. Slowly, the claws around her began to tighten, squeezing the life out of her body bit by bit. She could feel her bones strain, almost ready to snap.

She bit her bottom lip, silencing the scream of pain she felt welling up the bottom of her throat and focused all her attention on breaking free. It wasn't enough and the space kept constricting and eventually the bones on her arms snapped like twigs. The pain overtaking her, she cried out before falling limp. Seemingly satisfied, Krish let her drop from that height until she hit the ground with a large thud. Several more bones broke on impact.

"I wonder how my dear brother will react when I tell him I quite literally ground you into the dust?" Slowly, he raised his left foot. Illumina just lay there, battered and broken as the shadow crossed over her defeated body. A loud whistling sound broke the silence and Krish looked up just in time to get a round of missile fire straight in the face.

The Albatross flew across his side, firing more missiles as it went. The flying Mech was quickly followed by the S-Team in tight formation behind him, their own missiles impacting the Destroyer at various points across his entire body. Krish held his arm up and used it as a shield; the bullets and missiles simply impacted on his skin, hardly even scorching the short black fur.

"This is insane." Sam Speed muttered, looking back to see that all their attacks hadn't done a thing, and the wound Illumina had carved in his chest was healing, the skin closing over the carved flesh. "Just what the heck is this guy?"

"He's not called the Destroyer for nothing." The Major replied, before leading the formation around for another attack.

"Insects!" Krish hissed after the Albatross and it's support fire soured towards him. He swung a fish forward trying to crush them, but they were small and fast enough to swerve through the talons and spikes. Coming up along his arm, the major emptied ever missile he had left directly into the Destroyer's face at close range. Several struck his left eye and the sheer forced of the blasts nearly sent the giant toppling backwards. To stop himself, he slammed a foot down into the ground carving another scar across the wasteland.

"Open fire!" Looking around, Krish was able to force a shield around himself quick enough to protect himself from an intense barrage of missile fire. An army of Turtle Mech's had taken up a position on the mountain aside and acting as artillery were blasting him with everything they had. Not only this, but the President had deployed a large force of Anubis Mech's. These lumbering heavy walkers moved slowly towards the bombarded enemy and once they were within range, all thirty of them quickly lined up and let the Destroyer have it. Okida watched from above in awe at the tremendous display of firepower. The Anubis Mech had mastered missiles and lasers and the distance between the strike force the Krish was full of both. Smoke flew up, engulfing the giant completely and hiding him from view.

"You think that did it?" Sam asked. A second later, a torrent of green fire shot out of the chaos and crashed straight into the Turtle Mech's in the distance; obliterating over half their number in an instant, the walkers reduced to smouldering piles of ash.

"I'm going to go with 'no'." Okida replied.

A huge muscular tail came arching around from the smoke and crashed into the Anubis squadron, several of their number impaled on huge spikes of bone while the others were only sent flying into the air.

Several of them tried to resume fire but they were quickly silenced as a large foot came slamming down on top of them, their metallic forms crushed into the ground.

"None of you deserve the honour of death at my hands." The Destroyer remarked, advancing out of the smoke. Relaxing his muscles, Krish started shrinking, his height and mass reducing themselves until he was back to normal; floating in mid air with his arms folded across his chest. "You can die along with your planet!"

* * *

- 

The Bridge of the Blue Typhoon had been taken. As if attracted to the ship, Krish's dragon drones swarmed in on it carving their way into the already battered vessel to end to the crew, which by now was being hunted down through the corridors. Void was doing his best to fend them off, but they numbers were just overwhelming.

Big had, unexpectedly, come to their rescue as one of the monsters tried to snap Void'd head off. Showing uncharacteristic courage, the large feline threw himself at the cybernetic Dragon with Froggy hanging of the fur on his shoulders.

"We have to take the Bridge back." Cosmo remarked suddenly. Most of the crew that stayed on board were scrambling out of the rooms as more and more cy-borg dragons charged through the Ship. Emerl was holding them off on the flank, but even he couldn't keep it up for long.

"That's wishful thinking right now." Topaz remarked, loading another magazine into her automatic weapon. Cream and her mother were at her side, both poking around the corner to see Big struggle against the snapping jaws of a metallic lizard as it clawed it's way down the corridor.

"You don't understand." Cosmo whispered. Everything was so clear before her eyes, unquestionably transparent. She could see it all. But time was slipping away and if haste was not applied it would all be for nothing. "Everything depends on it."

"What are you talking about?" Void demanded, resting his weight on his sword as he paused to catch his breath. Tails' face remained transfixed on Cosmo, his blue eyes fixed on hers and her on his. Neither gaze faltering even for a moment. As if sensing her thoughts, the young fox began…

"You know why you have the visions." Cosmo nodded once in response. "Well, why then?"

"I thought I was here to warn someone about the darkness, but it turns out I was wrong. I'm here to give the Speedster and the Shade her best chance at stopping it."

"Can we get to the point of this?" Void asked, getting a little impatient.

"Don't you get it?" Cosmo asked with wide eyes. "I AM the point." Tails suddenly looked more confused than ever. "This is why I given the visions, why I came here. I know what I have to do now."

"What do you mean?" Cream asked. Cosmo smiled innocently in response, her blue eyes full of feeling.

"It means I'm the only one who can stop Krish."

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Void asked angrily. "Even Illumina couldn't stop that monster!" A snapping from around the corner increased and Big was suddenly forced out, his hands holding desperately onto the creature's jaws preventing it from biting his head off.

"I could use a little help!" The big cat remarked, digging his heals into the floor.

"Listen to me!" Cosmo demanded. "You need to take the bridge back. There's little item and I need your help!"

"Why the heck is going on?" Vanilla cried, pointing out the portside window. Following her gaze, they gaze the gigantic body of the Armageddon began to rise, ascending higher and higher into the sky. It's shadow on the ground began to shrink as it ascended.

"Hey what's the deal?" Vector asked, looking around in confusion as the ground beneath his feet began to shake. The scattered broken remains of the stations security forces lay smouldering around them. Nazo, Metal Sonic and Omega had disappeared heading up to the levels after the Armageddon's control room; leaving the rest of them alone to hold off the cybernetic creatures.

Amy quickly went over to a window and watched through the small opening as the ground below began to slip away.

"Is anyone here afraid of heights?" Espio slowly raised a hand. "Well do yourself a favour don't look out here." The pink hedgehog added with a nervous smile.

with a simple flick of it's head, the Dragon tossed Big backwards until he slammed violently into the side of the wall nearly squashing Froggy in the process. The creature screeched loudly before charging, teeth arched ready to bite. A second later, a beam of intense water pressure came blasting out of nowhere to strike hard into the cybernetic lizard's side, forcing it out the side of the wall and out of the ship itself.

"You need to the get to the bridge?" Asked a voice. Turning, they all saw Tikal standing down the corridor; her eternal companion Chaos at her side. The water demon's arms were raised and eye glowing bright green. "Then let's get to the bridge."

* * *

- 

The command centre of the Armageddon had been intended for Black Arm commanders and as such was a large, impressive looking chamber fit to house the grandest members of state. It was here that the founder of the sect had conceived the very idea of sealing the Destroyer in Nexus. Also, fifty years previous, Prof. Gerald has ascended deep into the earth to examine the crashed station he discovered. It was here he first uncovered the Eclipse Cannon and copied it's design. To make sure the station's crash sight as kept secret he destroyed all mention of this place in his files and notes; lest the original cannon fall into the wrong hands.

Krish's hands.

The dear departed professor had know long in advance of everything and had done his best to prepare for it. How he had done this was irrelevant but he would have done more, had the Destroyer not put a stop to his meddling. An insane man rarely has the wits to organise a defence. For an extremely inferior creature, the Professor had been one major thorn in his side and his legacy had continued to bombard Krish fifty years after the mans death.

The Destroyer had simply been planning to destroy the planets defenders and then ship the populace off as slave labour. But since they had annoyed him intently now, he had changed his mind; they could all die at once.

He reached forward and flipped a switch.

Thousands of mechanisms working in unison began to stir, gears twisting and pulling as the ancient weapon began to move once again. The upside down spire on the underside of the Armageddon began to shake, pieces of lodged dirt and rust falling free as the cone spilt into three pieces that folded out like a flower opening. The glow inside spreading down the edges towards the tip. The joints were ancient and rusted to the core, not even the drones had been able to repair that. Still, the cannon could fire given enough time for the buffers to get in place so the backlash of power wouldn't destroy the station.

As the cone opened with a reluctant groan that could be heard for miles around, the metallic spire inside was revealed, a huge twisting mess of cables that ran from the surface all the way up to the tip that separated out like a trident. At the bottom ran three rings that got smaller the closer they were to tip. There was a brief spark and the ring nearest the station began to glow neon blue as the firing sequence began.

"Oh no!" The President began in horror with sweat running down the side of his face, recognising this scene all too well.

"Not that…anything but that!" Rikoye whispered, his teeth clenched together as his arms began to shack in raw fear.

"The…it can't be…" Scarlet began nearly letting the camera drop. "The…the Eclipse Cannon!"

People all around the world has seen this weapon or at least heard of it, so when the second cannon began to open and power up, it sent all of them into outright panic. The police who up until now had been maintain peace, simply dropped their weapons and started running with the terrified civilians.

Krish took one final look at the earth while the power accumulated. A fused world…the world that had allowed him to return to this dimension and for that he was grateful, but this world had spawned everything that threatened him. He would not be sad to see the back of it.

"Hold it right there!" A voice cried over and an energy blast soured through the air, striking the floor near his feet as a warning shot. Krish snapped around to see Nazo standing at the entrance to the command centre, Metal Sonic and E123: Omega at either side. The red battle android had his arms raised ready to fire intense barrages of missiles and bullets and Metal Sonic was already in a fighting stance, metal claws held ready to swipe. "Put your hands in the air and step away from the Doomsday machine!" Krish hissed angrily through his nose before turning to face them fully, eyes ablaze with intense anger.

"Just how do any of you keep coming back to life?" He demanded, before charging with talons held ready. Omega went into action first, blasting the Destroyer's entire body with an intense succession of missiles that engulfed Krish in a fire storms stopping him in his tracks and hiding him from sight. Metal Sonic followed the attack up by crossing his arms in front of his chest and pausing just long enough to build up enough energy. With a loud sonic boom, a laser blast rocketed forward and stuck Krish head on as he tried to escape from the missile fire. Disappearing in a light show, all the Destroyer could do was hold up his hands trying to defend himself.

Nazo curved himself into a ball and started spinning, energy burning around his body before he shot forward as Metal Sonic's attack ended. To his dismay, he found that nothing was there for him to hit.

Coming out a spin attack, the white hedgehog slid to a stop a short distance away.

_"Where'd he go?"_ Metal Sonic asked, looking around for their opponent, who had completely disappeared. Omega was completely silent, his large red optics scanning the command centre piece by piece. Suddenly, he swung his arms to his left and fired a barrage of bullets. They struck something and whatever it was came flying out of the shadows. Before Omega could defend himself, Krish carved a deep scar directly up his chest-plate nearly tearing his head off. Forced offline Omega fell down to the floor with a loud thud.

Metal Sonic pared of a swing before firing an energy blast, but by then Krish had already disappeared back into the darkness and vanished, every attack missing their target.

"How's he doing that?" Nazo asked, his eyes darting from left to right trying to predict when the Destroyer was next going to attack. The entire chamber was bathed in shadows and Krish could be hiding in any one of them, preparing another deadly strike.

_"__Don't ask me!"_ Metal Sonic replied flatly. The two of them stood back to back, watching the darkness for any signs of movement.

"Just what were either of you thinking coming here?" A voice from the shadows asked. Snapping around, both Nazo and Metal Sonic saw a pair of glowing red stars glaring at them from out of the darkness. "I beat both of you with ease." Metal Sonic simply fired another energy blast straight at him, only to find the red eyes faded away to nothing a second before it hit and the attack missed it's mark. A large arm lanced out from behind and grabbed Nazo by the foot, before swinging him around and smashing him straight into Metal Sonic. The two of them collided and crashed to the floor.

The darkness then faded, illuminated by the glow of green fire as it spread around the chamber; encircling the two of them in an instant. Looking up, Nazo could see the Destroyer standing over them; the thick muscles under the skin highlighted by the green glow. The silted reptile like eyes glowing blood red. "I saw you die."

"The hand is quicker than the eye." The white hedgehog replied with a short grin, before shooting up and landed a upper cut across Krish's chin; knocking him backwards several paces.

Metal Sonic followed through by flying in close and slashing at the Destroyer repeatedly with his metal claws. Each slash didn't even carve the skin. A cloven hand came around, grabbing Metal Sonics by the waist and lifting him into the air. There he struggled to free himself before Krish's tail whipped around and smashed itself directly into his face.

Nazo crashed a punch into the back of Krish's head but the Destroy didn't even flinch.

"What the heck are you made of?" Nazo asked, spinning backwards to avoid being stabbing with the spikes on the outer edge of his arms. The hedgehog's moves were slower than usual. He was too distracted by his own doubts. What was he supposed to be? What was he here to do? Simply to kill Krish? Was that it? Just who the hell was he!

Distraction cost him dearly.

Krish grabbed Nazo but the arm and tossed him into the air, before striking at him hard with a fist. As the blow struck home, the form of the white hedgehog wavered for a moment before spilling out into the two that made him up.

"Oh that can't be good." Sonic commented as the Destroyer towered over them other, red eyes glinting from the midst of green fire.

"You're finished Sonic." Krish stated, standing over them both with his fire burning instantly along his side shoulders. "The Eclipse Cannon's firing sequence has already began and there's no way to stop it! No matter who wins this fight, planet Earth gets wiped of the intergalactic map!"

* * *

- 

(In Chris' voice)

It's the final face off and the last chance to save the planet. Can Sonic and Shadow beat Krish and the cloak to prevent global destruction? And what happens when dark secrets of both the Destroyer's origins and that of Sonic himself emerge? It's time to do or die as it comes down to the wire! Next time on Sonic X, the final battle part 2: Don't miss it!


	61. Episode 31

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

-

Narrator: This is it…everything been building up to this one final clash. The original Eclipse Cannon is nearly ready to fire and Sonic and Shadow face off against the Destroyer, a being capable of ripping them both apart. Even with Metal Sonic to help them can their efforts be enough?

Find out today on Sonic X….

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO; LET'S GO!

Episode 31: The Finale battle, part 2

-

* * *

Chaos' arms twisted through the air and smashed through the heads of the dragon drones, ripping them off the necks in a spray of yellow blood and metallic shards. They swayed for a second before toppling to the side with a loud thud. The others entering through the large hole in the top clawed away as the water demon as he slid across the floor in liquid form. Their claws simply passed right through without doing any damage. Reforming into a round ball Chaos slammed against one of them hard, smashing it into the side of a wall. The other slashed him repeatedly from behind but before any serious damage could be inflicted; he melted down into a puddle on the floor. The Dragon looked confused, then alarmed as Chaos came up behind it. Two long arms shot out, grabbed his head and tugged back violently, shattering it's jawbone and breaking it's neck.

"Remind me never to get on his bad side." Chris remarked as the bridge was quickly taken back. Any more Dragons trying to enter were quickly dealt with as Void flew up and began fending them off with his sabre.

"AHHH! Tails yelled, looking around at the state of the bridge. The Dragon drones had not been kind on it. Claw and teeth marks ran across the wall and floor and a good deal of the terminals had been slashes and rendered useless. "What the hell have they done to my baby!" He demanded, poking at the control terminal for the weapons systems and in response a metallic plate fell away to reveal the extensive circuitry damage.

"Oh this is not good." Chris spoke up, finding most of the controls complete inoperable. The only thing that was keeping the Typhoon from crashing as the overbearing energy culminated in the energy core of the ship. Knuckles was desperately trying not to let the power fly out of control. Having all seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master together proved to be a recipe for disaster. The slightest upset in the balance and everything would be engulfed in a Chaos Control warp before they could blink.

"Navigations and helm control are still working." Tails stated, slipping into the captains seat and taking the ship off auto-pilot. "But we can't defend ourselves or shoot at anything!"

"You won't have to." Cosmo replied, walking over to the front of the bridge to wave out towards the massive Armageddon station. "Take us as close to the Station as you can. I will do the rest."

"Perhaps now you'd like to tell us exactly what it is you're going to do?" Vanilla asked as Void and Emerl both fought off a Dragon drone from above, preventing several of them from reclaiming the bridge. Cosmo did not reply, she just stood there silently; staring off towards the Armageddon. Tails paused, then slid down out of the captain's seat and walked over to her.

"Cosmo…" He began, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Tails… what I plan on doing means that…" She paused in mid sentence, as if afraid to continue. "It means I can't stay here anymore." Her voice was a whisper, to prevent the others from hearing.

"What…what do you mean?" He asked, equalling her own volume. The others watched curiously as she whispered something to him and a horrified look suddenly passed over his face. Tails looked more stunned than he had ever in his entire life.

"What she say?" Cream asked. Vanilla just shrugged.

"Do you understand?" Cosmo asked. Tails remained silent, staring at her with wide eyes, his expression unreadable. Then, he nodded just once. Cosmo managed a short smile. "Thank you." She drew him into a short hug. Tails did nothing for a moment, before he hugged her back. Then they separated and Cosmo offered him her left hand. The young fox breathed out with a sigh, before grasping it with his right.

* * *

- 

Nazo sat in the place of none-existence, lost in the combined thoughts of Sonic and Shadow. He could feel them fighting, their pain, excitement and fear was his; heightened many times. Krish had been right in one respect, he was more than simply Sonic and Shadow merged into one. Sure he had traits from both, but he was a person in his own right. His likes and dislikes were often completely different to both of them and even his view of the world differed. Every time they merged and he was bid entrance to the real world all he was supposed to do as fight. After the energy level dropped, the two hedgehogs became two again and he was put back here.

Fights had been the only thing he had known of the real world. Here, in this empty place he sat alone for most of the time; called upon only as extra muscle when the going got tough. He wasn't resentful for it. In fact he was grateful for any time he got to spent in the real world. He hadn't always been here though. One minute he had been quite literally nothing and then, wham, he existed. Someone had clicked their fingers and there he was. Ever since then, this had been where he would stay until called for. Most of his time here he would spend sleeping or thinking quietly. There wasn't much else to do.

Krish had made him doubt his actions and because of it, Sonic and Shadow were now facing the Destroyer without any outside aid; and they weren't doing very well. Sonic had cuts and bruises all over his body and had gone dangerously close to being stabbed in the groin by the spikes on Krish's tail. Shadow was faring far better but fatigue was beginning to show itself in his movements. The Destroyer was just as fast as they were and finally stronger, not to mention having mastery of that green fire.

The white hedgehog shook his head, realizing that that wasn't what was really bothering him. His lament was something far more personal. It was fear, the fear that if he served his purpose; if Krish was destroyed, then the Professor's legacy would be realized and then they would have no more use for him and he would get no more access to the real world.

Something was missing from the equation though, something important but as to what it was Nazo could only guess. Gerald was not a man to leave anything to chance. He had certainly not done so with his plan to crash the ARK into the Earth after he lost his marbles. It seemed unlikely that Nazo himself would be his only means of defence. There had to be more to it than that. The recording Shadow had seen claimed what was required was a power beyond Chaos Control. But could possibly be stronger than a dimensional warp? It could destroy, create, transport and empower.

He was going to get nowhere with tying to figure it out himself, he was no scientist and certainly not privileged enough to have studied any of the late Professor's notes. All he had to go by was the recording and that one ring around Shadow's wrist. Since both hedgehog's were someone distracted at the moment, Nazo guessed it was up to him to ponder this for himself.

"Nazo…." A voice called out from the void. The white hedgehog looked up in confusion but found no one there to meet him. "Nazo…" There it came again, only this time it sounded closer. Nazo stood up, no one had spoken to him here before. This was new.

"Who is there?" He asked into the air. Silence endured for a moment, before a small figure appeared before him. Transparent at first before solidifying. It was Cosmo. Nazo said nothing at her presence in this place. After all, she was a seer from Maginaryworld and about them he knew very little. There was someone at her side, holding her hand; giving her strength to make this mental projection. Tails looked slightly confused to see the white hedgehog, looked more stunned then he ever had in his life.

"Can I help you two?" Nazo asked after a moment.

* * *

-

Metal Sonic grabbed the two large talons coming at him and grasped them tightly in his metallic hands; his feet digging into the ground to slow himself down. Krish's strength proved far superior to his own and eventually he had to let do and duck as the arm went flying forward smashing into the side of a wall.

Blocking a swing from that lethal tail, the robotic hedgehog soured in close and slashed repeatedly at the flesh with his claws. Each hit barley even scratched the surface and it just kept healing. This guys healing response system had to be hyper fast for that to happen. Scars were repairing themselves in a matter of moments, simply closing as soon as the skin was cleaved.

The head came down and Metal Sonic was snapped up in those insect pincers, Krish lifting him higher and higher into the sky holding him there no matter how desperately he struggled. Suddenly those deadly instruments began to close, constricting around the robots waist and trying to slice him in half. The robotic hedgehog brought his hand down sharply right down on the Destroyer's left eyes piercing it with his claws. Krish howled angrily and tossed Metal Sonic violently to the side and through a wall, the metal hedgehog disappearing in a cloud of dust.

The Eclipse Cannon, the original Eclipse Cannon, was nearly ready to fire. The first ring on it's three levels was alright alight and the energy was continuing to build. Once all three rings were lit, it was goodbye planet Earth. Shadow knew that the clock was against them, but even if it wasn't; defeating Krish seemed like an impossible task.

"Come in Sonic, Shadow; can either of you hear me?" Yes, they could hear him but right now they were both a little to busy to answer the call. Sonic grimaced before sliding backwards through slashes of talons and spike that could easily rip him apart.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow came in sharply and tried to land the energy attack across the Destroyer's stomach. Krish moved too fast, dodging around the blast before a kick came in fast and knocked the black and red hedgehog to the ground with a thud. A spike came lancing down attempting to impale him and it would have, had Sonic not soured in at the last second and pulled him out of the way so Krish ended up stabbing the floor.

"This had better be good Chuck." The blue hedgehog announced into the com phone around his ear,

"I've checked the DNA pattern on that organic sample you sent me and the result is quite conclusive." The old man replied on the other end. Sonic looked up as Krish approached, the fire around him burning as strong as ever. He grimaced, grabbed Shadow and flew away as everything starting catching fire.

"Can it wait?" Shadow asked, regaining his sense and gathering a chaos spear attack between his fingers.

"We're kind of busy right now!" Sonic added in, letting Shadow down before finding a fist coming screaming to his face knocking him all the way across the chamber and into the side of the wall. Had he not diapered into a Chaos Control warp at the last second Krish would have finished him with an intense blast of green flame.

"No, you're going to want to hear this." Chuck replied sounding more urgent. Krish's tail swung around, nearly impaling the two hedgehogs on the barbed tip had they not rolled to the side to avoid it. "The genetic pattern is, given a few differences, identical to that of the Black Arms."

"What?" Rikoye demanded in utter surprise, his flaxen yellow eyes wide open. This was obviously news to the Black Arms. Chuck had arranged a link with the flag ships of the Fleet which were still engaging the Destroyer's drones. Many were falling from the sky, but it seemed the Armageddon station was supplying their armies with an endless supply of fighters. It was beginning to wear the armada down. "That's impossible."

"There's no doubt." Chuck told him turning back to face the alien commander with a very serious expression on his face. "Despite a genetic upgrade, Krish is one of your kind."

"Say what?" Sonic asked over the intercom, before glancing back as Krish towered over both of them with a fist held ready "You're a Black Arm?" The demon like being stayed his hand before he snorted loudly, his eyes narrowing in distaste; the pincers that served as a mouth snapping together several times

"Do not insult me." He snapped, smashing a fist down into the ground that Sonic somersaulted over avoiding the blow. "Yes, I am Fesonian; but do not dirty my name by associating me with those criminals." Rikoye just looked stunned, his flaxen yellow eyes wide in utter shock.

"The Destroyer…is a confederate!" Krish was the evil of their civilisation, an unspeakable evil that followed them across entire star systems; never ceasing in it's pursuit and lust for their blood. The confederates were a real threat, while Krish was a looming darkness that haunted their nightmares. Now, they could see the two were one and the same.

"Not just **_A_** confederate." Krish replied, hearing the commander's exclamation over the com link. "I am the second emperor of the dynasty. Brother of the coordinator."

"The Dooms Eye." Rikoye snarled, grinding his teeth in anger. "To think that I was actually scared of you. You're just another Fesonian with a few genetic upgrades."

"Think what you like." Krish replied snapping his pincers again. "It still doesn't change the fact that you're all going to die like that meddling Gerald." Sonic managed a sharp grin.

"I bet Shadow's daddy managed to throw one hell of a wrench in your works." Shadow shot Sonic a glare.

"He was certainly persistence in his interference. Your parents were meddling idiots are well." Krish hissed, jabbing a talon at Sonic. The blue hedgehog just stood there after there, staring up at the Destroyer with wide eyes.

"You…you knew my parents?" Krish lowered his arm and stood there very still, fixing the blue hedgehog with a stone like glare.

"Not personally, but their reputation was enough to get my attention." He replied with a thick layer of sadistic hate in his voice. "You see, Gerald even tried to prevent my return through events on Mobius. He knew your grandfather, even used his genetic pattern to make your shadowy friend here." Sonic shot Shadow a glance before turning back. "But not only that, to him Gerald gave a cellular upgrade of his own, a present that gave him extraordinary speed and agility. Abilities that would help him evade my followers on Mobius. An ability that was passed onto his offspring, which in turn was passed on you; the only soul left of your family."

"What…what do you mean?" Sonic asked, fear suddenly creeping into his soul. He already had a fair idea what Krish was going to say.

"It soon became clear to my servants that, if allowed to continue, your family would eventually spawn an army of super fast soldiers. The genetic upgrade would endure for thousands of generations. Gerald had already warned them of my plans, so it was obvious they were a threat."

Sonic was left standing there silently, his eyes wide and expression emotionless.

"You brought down their ship to prevent them from aiding the Professor's defence." Shadow announced. "You killed them all." Krish nodded once.

"I do not tolerate threats." His tone was extremely hostile. "It wasn't me directly, but I did give the order. My servants planted a bomb on the ship I knew that would be carrying that bloodline. All of them drowned." He paused and turned down toward the blue hedgehog. "Except for you."

Everyone was listening on the com-link thanks to Chuck. The conversation was broadcast to the entire fleet, even while the ships were fighting. Scarlet Garcia managed to catch the signal and broadcast it with her live link, allowing the entire planet to hear the Destroy confess to the murder of Sonic's entire family.

"Oh Sonic…." Amy began, tears wheeling up in her eyes.

Tails was left there stunned, sitting at the helm with wide eyes. Tikal shook her head and sighed out load.

"You evil bastard!" Shadow snarled. "First the Ancient Echidna's, then Gerald and Maria and now them? Does your blood lust know no ends?"

"All of them were lesser creatures." Krish muttered as if it didn't matter whatsoever. "None of them were law abiding Fesonian, so believe me; I feel quite justified in sacrificing every last one of them to ensure my return to the empire. Project Shadow, Gerald's true project intention, was to create a champion to stop me. To do this, he set out a strategy by which his genetic efforts on both Earth and Mobius would unite against me." Sonic stood there, his head throbbing angrily from the inside; blurred images of scattered flaming wreckage flying around him. A dark pit was below, slowly drawing them down towards the churning waves. Tying desperately he was trying to escape, to get away, to climb up. But the more he struggled the faster he sunk. A nightmare that installed his paralysing fear of the ocean.

"My people spent eons running from you monster." Rikoye began, his fist shaking in rage. "We saw you as a darkness that all we could do was fear. Now I can see you for what you truly are! You're nothing but a bigot, I'm ashamed we were ever scared of you."

Krish went silent and very still for a moment, his red eyes glaring out through one of the port windows to the Black Arm mother ship and the Commander therein. Shadow paused, watching him intently. The Destroyer was over five times his size and far more muscular, with spikes jutting out of his shoulders. On closer inception now, he did look basically like a Black Arm and the hedgehog could see scars along the fur where the spike and horns were. Clearly they had not been part of his original frame.

Sonic sat there trying to forget. The water around him, the cold clammy feeling on his fur. That night had been brought back to him with vivid recall. He could see everything now. Not just random swirls; he could see the flaming wreckage of the ship and the sting of the foam on his face and he tried to claw for anything that could keep him afloat.

His first memory. Everything before that had been wiped clean. The trauma of that one event had left him without a single recollection of the past. Krish had done some pretty awful things to the others, but he had taken something no one should have to loose. The memory of his parent's faces.

"How dare you speak to me with such righteousness." Krish snarled eventually, turning back; his eyes locked onto the com device. "Your people made me what I am. My brother and I ruled the Confederate Empire until I was captured during the first rebellion war. I was first interrogated, tortured and then I was subjected to genetic upgrade experiments. Your scientists were attempting to create new soldiers for your sect." Rikoye remained silent. He had heard that their ancestors had preformed experiments in genetic alteration, which had been long since banned. "I escaped, destroyed the research and returned to the empire. I swore then and there that I would never rule again until I had personally hunted down and exterminated every last one of you. So I passed the throne completely to my brother and with him it had remained for eons." Krish looked down at his arms and the spikes running along the outside edge. "I had hoped that perhaps this new body would be reverted back to it's original state, but apparently my D.N.A has been like this for far too long." His fists clenched. "I can never be normal again and for that, you will all die!" There was a loud crackling sound and the second level of the Eclipse Cannon lit up like a candle, the energy crackling around the spire snapping left and right like bolts of lightning. "And I'll start with this entire planet!" Krish added, his eyes alight with sadistic humour.

Shadow froze, staring at the cannon out the vantage point of the station. One more level and it could fire!

"Sonic Wind!" A vortex of blue energy swirling out of the darkness and batted the Destroyer's hand away. Shadow cat a glance back to see Sonic there. The blue hedgehog was standing there with his face angled towards the floor, his hand raised. There was a moment of silence before he just suddenly started laughing. His head rolling back. "Sad story; really, I felt it here you know." He chuckled, placing a hand on his chest. "But that doesn't make you much of a basket case you know." Krish snapped his pincers together angrily.

"I don't need or want your pity." The green fire flared to life around his shoulders, highlighting his scared black fur. "I can crush you in an instant. I already whipped out for kin."

"That's what you think." Sonic replied, the grin on his face widening as he managed to quite his giggling. "My family are still very much alive." Krish looked a little confused. "Hey, fair enough you got my blood relatives. But if I'm honest, I didn't know those people. Besides a family doesn't just have to exclusively mean blood relations. The people I regard as family have always been with me. Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Chris, Even Shadow here. They've been as good as any brothers or sisters could ever be." He paused, then laughed again putting a hand to his forehead. "Oh man did I just say something that corny. What was I thinking?"

"You're telling me." Knuckles groaned over the communication channel. "Just what **_where_** you thinking?"

"Corny or not, couldn't be more right." Amy told him as she dried her tears and picked up her hammer, a smirk spreading across her face.

"It's true. We've all been through a lot together." Chris spoke up.

_"Are you quite finished with the pathetic moralizing?"_ A voice asked. Turning around, Sonic and Shadow saw Metal Sonic walking towards him. The robot detached the burning remains of his cape from his shoulders before approaching. "_You can debate all this crap later. Right now we've got work do to."_

_"Affirmative."_ Another voice and following him out came Omega. Metal Sonic had given him some of his nano-bots and they had managed to heal the wound Krish carved in his chest plate.

_"Besides, dose it even have a point?"_ Sonic paused a scratched the side of his chin in response.

"No not really, I just thought it was the right thing to say." He replied eventually with a shot grin. Krish looked stunned. "Now you're probably wondering why I haven't lost my head in a fit of rage after that last little confession of yours. Truth if, I'm raging inside." Sonic added, giving the Destroyer an extremely hostile glare. "But my new family is going to help me avenge my old one!"

"As touching as this is, I'm afraid my patience has run out." A thick tail came slamming down hard and they had to manoeuvre fast to avoid it. "Only the Confederate way of life matters. Everything else is heresy. And all heretics will be destroyed." Green flames began shooting through the chamber, each and everyone lashing out as them as they circled. "Concepts such as those are abhorrent and backwards, bred out of our society years ago..."

"Gee no wonder you guys wanted separatism." Chuck remarked to Jailos who nodded once.

Krish grabbed Sonic by the arms and hoisted him into the arm.

"This is the start of the inquisition of the universe. Once the cannon clears another level, your planet will be the first to experience the cleansing power of the Confederate Empire."

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name:

Description:


	62. Episode 31, part 2

(Best music to listen to while reading the finale "Fireproof" by Pillar)

Flip card 1:

Name; Cosmo

Description: What her purpose is and why she alone was called to do it will perhaps forever remain mystery, but the fact that remains that only she call fulfil that role.

* * *

_"Exterminate!"_ Bullets began flying as Omega barraged the Destroyer with the guns on both arms, the metallic projectiles impacting on the skin. Several more missiles followed though, forcing Krish's arms down as he tried to engulf his enemies in fire. With Krish pinned down Metal Sonic came in from the side and landed several kicks against the Destroyers legs.

Joining in Sonic and Shadow launched themselves into a spin attack, flying through the air before smashing down hard straight into their opponents face. The combined and constant barrage forced Krish back a few steps, before his' eyes blared wide open and a pillar of green fire and propelled all three of them backwards and crashing over the floor.

Krish stared them all down, and then started laughing; his fists clenched at either side. "You don't know when to give up do you?" He demanded, seizing Metal Sonic out of the arm and using his body to smash against Shadow and slammed the both of them into the wall. "I'm the co- ruler of the Confederates, you pieces of lower trash!" Sonic tried to come up behind him with a spin attack but at the last second, a ball of green flames smashed into the blue hedgehog head out and sent him crashing down into Omega who was attempting an attack from the rear at the same time. "This isn't some sort of game! Not some duel you delude yourselves into thinking has any honour." Holding up a single hand, he bombarded all four of them with intense flames, scorching everything that came into their path. "It's destroy or be destroyed!" A good deal of the paint on Metal Sonic and Omega was burnt off and the quills on both hedgehog's ended up blackened; scorch marks covering their bodies.

There was a sudden burning sensation that passed through the air, following by a loud sonic boom. Everyone looked around in horror to see the final ring of the Eclipse Cannon's trio of energy gauges lit up. The energizing sequence was complete and the cannon was ready to fire! All it needed now was the command.

Turning, Krish made a quick gesture at the machinery and some levers and buttons pushed and turned themselves. In response, the firing procedure began. The station began emitting a low humming that was steadily growing louder with each passing second. Energy generated from the centre of the Armageddon was being channelled down and stored, culminating, waiting for the one moment it was needed for. After a moment of silence, neon blue lightning bolts began lancing up and down the spike of the cannon and the bottom level of the weapon illuminated itself, turning bright white.

"He's going to fire that thing!" The President exclaimed in utter horror.

"I confirm." Rikoye replied, his own sensors registering a dramatic increase in power fluctuations. "The Eclipse Cannon is preparing to fire and at full power. If it discharges he completely destroy this world and the surrounding planets."

"He's insane! He'll get caught in the blast!"

"The Armageddon has an energy filter system. It can not be destroyed by it's own energy discharge. It'll simply shift dimension frequencies and…"

"It won't get blown up, just keep it simple!" Sonic pushed himself to a kneeling position, blood running from cuts all over his face. His quills dreadfully blackened. Krish was towering over them, relishing in the fact that his victory was close at hand.

"Game Over Sonic, but before your planet dies.." He hissed and raised a cloven hand ready to strike down. "Let me show you why I'm called the Destroyer!"

Sonic hadn't the strength to dodge now.

"A title Krish; nothing more." A voice stated out of the gloom and suddenly the light shone through.

"What!" Krish demanded, glancing back and staying his hand. The Blue Typhoon was hovering in the air a distance away ; the bow pointed directly towards him and standing upon the very tip was Cosmo .The young seer was standing there silently with her hands clasped together, a soft white glow surrounding her entire body, pulsating like the soft beating of a heart. Her eyes were closed and her lips kept parting as she whispered soft incantations on the wind. The light radiating away from here was like a second sun, passing though the green fire extinguishing them with ease. Everyone fighting, even the drones just stopped to stare back at the strange events. Without warning, the energy gathered in the cannon subsided to nothing; draining through the air and channelled through the young seer's body. The blue lighting bolts disappeared one by one and the rings turned themselves off. "This can't be happening!" Krish cursed into the air.

"Hey…Cosmo?" Sonic began, pulling himself up and rubbing a thin trail of blood away from the side of his mouth.

"Just what does she think she's doing?" Shadow asked, shoving a large sheet of metal off his legs and despite the pain stood up.

"Would you look at that?" Vector stated in awe, gesturing out the window. Everyone followed his gaze to see the Blue Typhoon and the seer at it's front. Slowly, Cosmo's eyes opened to reveal their colour had changed from sea blue to bright white. Holding out her arms wide, she muttered one had word and suddenly the air thudded like something had struck it with a loud hammer. With a loud crash, the side of the Typhoon burst open and seven glittering points of light flew out of the wound and up towards the bow. Void watched in uncertainty as the seven Chaos emeralds quickly surrounded her, their energy feeding directly into her; her hair flapping about as if caught in some invisible wind. He didn't know if this was going to work, in point of fact; he wasn't even aware of what she was doing. Thus far everything had proved ineffective against the Destroyer, but Tails had complete faith in her; Void could see it in his eyes. While the others didn't have the same dedication and loyalty he had, they trusted her completely. So he supposed it was worth a try.

"What cheap trick is this?" Krish demanded, snorting loudly and snapping his pincers together.

"No trick Destroyer." Cosmo replied, hearing his voice all the way on the ship. "Only your end." Krish hissed loudly, a loud chuckle vibrating in his throat. "Your darkness is nothing but the bigotry views of a culture caught in it's own arrogance. I'm not scared of you anymore." She managed a small smile. "None of us are."

"Yeah, you can say that again!" Sonic replied, pushing himself up with the greatest effort; his own cocky grin on his face. Tikal manage a smile of her own. Cosmo was right. Despite his power, Krish was nothing to fear. He was just another being with flaws like the rest of them. Another zealot with dreams of racial cleansing. What he had become after his genes had been messed with was still in question, but what he was; he was no god.

"Your hatred is what drives and what will destroy you Krish." Cosmo's smile faded a little. "I'm actually quite sad for you." The glow radiating from the Destroyer's eyes flared in anger.

"I don't need your pity!" Holding out a hand, he fired an intense blast of green fire straight through the side of the wall and out into the air; carving a huge hole in the side of the station in the process. The attack screamed through the sky, fuelled by utter hate it advanced in an instant and collided straight into Cosmo's small body and then flowed around it. The Chaos Emeralds came to life, forming a ball like shield around her; protecting the young seer from harm.

"Face it Krish, you're just another bad guy with delusions of grandeur." Shadow stated, forming a fist at him. "Hardly the god people have made you out to be over the centuries!"

_"Just another piece of organic filth."_ Metal Sonic added, sharpening his claws against the side of a wall; their tips glinting brightly in the early morning sunlight coming through the sun roof Krish had just opened up.

"I'll kill you for this!" The Destroyer hissed, his pincers expanding out wide before snapping away at the two hedgehog trying to cut them in half, but both were far too fast for him to succeed.

"No, you will not." Cosmo announced before gently lifting both arms and facing the palms directly towards the Armageddon. The blue Typhoon vibrated slightly as the trap door at the front behind her pulled side and the lift rose up into place. Standing there alone was Knuckles, the Master Emerald held in both hands, the flat cut top aimed directly towards the young seer.

"I've been waiting a long time to get even with you." The Echidna announced, glaring down as the Destroyer below as Krish looking out through the gap in the station towards the ship. "My people have not have been very strong willed, but they were a proud race. And you betrayed them to their deaths. Because of you, I'm one of the last few Echidna's left." Krish hissed loudly, reading a blast another fire bolt towards the ship. At the last second, Metal Sonic came flying in with a kick to his back nearly causing him to topple over. Omega followed through by emptying his entire ammunition supply into the Destroyer's stomach.

Shadow came in next, leaping up between the two large horns on Krish' head and smashing the strongest Chaos Spear he could summon into the top of his skull. Sent tipping sideways, Krish supported his weight on the wall and didn't look up in time to see Sonic come slamming in with a Spin attack that crashed itself directly into his side and sent him cascading out of the Armageddon and into the open air.

"Enough!" Krish nearly screamed, righting himself in mid air and tensing his muscles. Letting out a loud pitched screech, his size began increasing; his entire body growing larger and larger. His feet met the ground with a loud thud and soon his shadow began falling across the width of the entire station, blocking out the sunlight. A massive hand moved up and moved towards the stations, talons outstretched ready to tear. His eyes were alight with hatred and a blood lust. In that moment, nothing mattered to him more than killed them all and watching the life fade from their eyes as they bodies burst into pulp.

At the last second a beam of green light lanced out of nowhere and landing on his back. The light seared his skin like an acid, causing him to yell out in pain. Looking up, Sonic saw that the light was coming from Cosmo herself. All seven Chaos Emeralds were working through her, their combined energy feeding down the light and searing through the Destroyer before gently landing on both the blue hedgehog and Shadow. Giving the seer a boast was the Master Emerald, it's energy leaping the distance between them to her before mixing with that of the Chaos Emeralds and travelling down to the two hedgehogs. Knuckles struggling to control the vast amount of power, sweat running down his forehead as he reciting the ancient chant used to manage the Emerald.

"Stop it! Stop it or I'll kill you I swear!" The Destroyer cried out, his giant form lumbering backwards. The light on him was almost unbearable, an intense beam that would not stop it's relentless searing. To add to his pain, another beam shot down from the aurora in the sky above, the gateway to Maginaryworld. The purple light mixed with the green and suddenly they both turned bright white.

This beam was coming from Queen Illumina, who was channelling the power of her Precious Stone; still in her home dimension through herself. Helping her absorb and project all this tremendous power were her elite guard and Lumina, all of them hovering in a tight circle around her muttering incantations. The energy shot down and ran through the Destroyer before the combined power fell upon the two hedgehogs like gentle snow.

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed, feeling his energy instantly recharge. All the cuts and bruises on his body just seemed to melt away as unimaginable strength followed through him. The same thing was happening to Shadow, all his aches and pains disappeared as if they had never been there. "Yahhooo! Man, I feel incredible!" Sonic added with a thick grin. His quills swayed gently as if caught in an updraft for an instant, before they sparked like lightning and turned bright gold. The green eyes diluted and then turned blood red.

Shadow managed small smile of his own before his fur transformed from black to shining silver. Power unlike anything either of them had ever experienced flowing through them. Power culminated from many sources, the chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald and even the Precious Stone, was incredible. It felt unlimited, as if the sun had handed over every ounce of it's strength and it was radiating out uncontrollably.

"You'll burn for this!" Krish screamed, before igniting an inferno of green fire. Cupping his cloven hands, the Destroyer aimed it directly down into the Armageddon. The heat scorched everything in it's path, incinerating metal and stone; reducing everything even clouds in it's wake to ash.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Metal Sonic cried out, flying between the two super Hedgehog's and the Destroyer; Omega at his side. Their combined turbines generating energy together, the two robots forced a thick barrier across them and the simply flowed around it like the water of a stream.

"DIE!" Krish screeched to the heavens and increased the flow of flames, desperate to make them burn, to watch their charcoaled bodies wither.

"You're like a broken second!" A voice announced. Looking to the side, Krish caught a blow straight in a face as a hammer spun through the air before sinking itself straight into his eye. Screeching, he stopped his attack and took a step back, tearing the small object out and crushing it between his fingers. "I've got more where they came from!" Amy called out from the top of the Armageddon, flipping her wrist so another hammer appeared with the hilt between her fingers.

_"That used up all my power reserve."_ Metal Sonic announced as Omega collapsed to the floor, all the power left inside his energy reserves depleted. The robotic hedgehog's eyes faded in and out before he slid down to his knees. _"Finish it, and don't screw this up."_ With that his eyes disappeared completely and he fell down with a thud.

"Chaotix, attack!" Vector cried out and the Spider Mech leapt from the stationing rammed it's forelegs into the Destroyer's side. Vector and Espio leapt off and began attacking the flesh with everything they had, Krish's entire left side riddled with throwing stars and bite marks before

"We're here to fight the bad guys!" Charmee cheered as Beck slammed the controls forward as the Mech fired several plasma blasts at close range

Fang took a turn, firing round after round at any place that looked vulnerable.

Explosions ran up the large spine as missiles flew up the spikes and struck the Destroyer's spikes, breaking the tips off two of them. The Albatross and the S-Team soured in close with another barrage, emptying their own ammunition down Krish's back.

Finishing the attack off, Void flew straight up to the Destroyer's face and stabbed him directly in the nose with his sabre, leaving the blade dislodged in the flesh before backing away as boulder size talons came souring at him.

"Hey what's going on!" Cream asked in surprise, watching Cosmo slowly rise into the air with the seven Chaos Emeralds following close behind her. The young seers body was quickly being overtaken by the soft glow that pulsated around her. They all watched in amazement as slowly she climbed higher and higher; and more and more of her slowly dissolved in the light.

"Is she insane?" Void demanded in utter shock. "She's attempting a dimension transit!" Travelling from dimension to dimension was something the people of Maginaryworld could do by changing the frequency of the molecules in their bodies. It required a tremendous amount of energy to even attempt it. Backed up by the Chaos Emeralds, Cosmo wasn't just trying to warp herself. She attempting a transit; an energy line between two points in space within the same dimensional realm. Something possible, but with her as the catalyst, she would sent flying from this dimension by the resulting warp with no way of returning. The light around her was the first sure signs of the dimensional displacement. No one could control a transit, not even Illumina! She was sacrificing herself!

"Tails where are you going?" Chuck asked as the young fox, without a single moment of hesitation threw himself out of the pilots seat and bolted for the door.

Krish raised a hand and fired a mutable blast of green fire through the air, striking Okida's albatross several times across the underbelly and quickly the Mech began spiralling towards the ground; followed quickly by several of the S-Team, the pilots bailing out.

"Oh crap!" Fang cried out as a hand came souring around before fist closed around him, Espio and Vector; lifting all three of them high into the air. Another fist crashed down hard on the Spider Mech, smashing in it's top armour. Beck tried to maintain control of the thing, but being unskilled in Walker piloting couldn't stop the thing from falling to the ground.

"You can't hurt me cretins!" The Destroyer snarled, before stamping down hard on the Mech. Had Charmee and beck not ejected at the last second they would have been crushed as the robotic insect caved in.

"That's where you're wrong!" The air broke apart and missiles like thick rain came souring down through the sky, all of them twisting like flies before crashing one after the other against the Destroyer's back, explosions erupting all the way down his tail. Krish doubled forward, his claws scarring the earth to prevent himself from tipping over. "As I said before…" Eggman began as the bow of his new battleship, the Egg Carrier 4 came breaking through the clouds. "There's only one big shot around here, and it's me!" His new ship was a vast improvement on the first three models. It was about the same size, but had four engines at the back instead of two and a second set of wings on the underbelly that folded out with the main set as the entire vessel switched from flight to combat mode. More missiles began launching in rapid succession from the bow, impacting Krish's arms as he held one up to defend himself.

Eggman congratulated himself on his sheer brilliance once again. Before going to Mars, he made sure to order the contraction of a few weapons he was going to need when he got back. The Egg-moon had been working flat out to get them all ready.

Krish scowled angrily, before raising his free arm and calling forth a bal of intense green flames in between his talons.

"Hey, not forgotten about us yet?" Looking back, Krish saw Super Sonic and Super Shadow standing on the edge of the hole he himself had carved in the Armageddon insufferable smiles on both their faces. "Hope you've had fun playing Godzilla, cause your little temper tantrum is all but over."

"I'll crush you all like bugs!" Shadow simply wagged a finger at him.

"Wrong again." He stated with a small smile. "See, while Sonic and I took over the fighting; Nazo had time to think about what you said." Krish suddenly looked taken aback, his red eyes blinking several times in confusion.

"You remember? About him being Prof. Gerald's legacy?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms. "Well guess what tall an' ugly. You're wrong. Nazo isn't Gerald's hand me down."

"What are you babbl…" The words froze in the Destroyer's throat as a third hedgehog appeared, standing between the two of them. A hedgehog with facial features from both Sonic and Shadow with white fur. His body was transparent, as if he was some ghost.

"Truth be told, Cosmo was the one who filled me in. Prof. Gerald knew that the worlds would merge into one some day." Nazo explained, a thick smile over his lips as he fixed the giant with a stare. "The guy's smarter then any of us gave him credit for. He also knew that you'd use the events to remake that big ugly body of yours. So he set a plan down that used the same thing against you." The white hedgehog gestured to the two hedgehogs standing either side of him. "And that thing, is us… All three of us! A Power beyond Chaos Control."

"What!" Krish stammered, stepping back a few paces. He cast a glance up at the two beams of light still focuses on his body, one lancing out into Maginaryworld and the other channel ultimately to the Master Emerald on the Blue Typhoon. "What is this!"

"Cosmo wait!" Tails called out, leaping off the bow of the ship after her, his tails spinning around giving him as much thrust as they could. Cosmo floated in, her body slowly being absorbed by the light; her own power being spent on preserving the links. Without thinking, Tails hurled himself into the light; taking her by the hand.

"Leave Tails." She told him without turning her head. The young fox refused to let go of her hand.

"No, I won't." He replied flatly, his hand tightening his grip on hers. "I knew you said this would happen and I know I promised to help you, but…." He paused to curse loudly. "Dammit I just can't do it!"

"Let go of me." Cosmo insisted. "If you don't you'll get taken away as well." Tails shook his head.

"I know that. But…I promised to protect you Cosmo, remember?" The young seer blinked once, remembering his words; how despite Krish's overwhelming power that could easily crush both of them he had promised to keep her from harm. His heart had been in his mouth when he said that. His very soul had been speaking. It was a promise that was impossible to break.

"I have to do this." Cosmo told him, carrying on floating upwards. "I have to give them their chance." Tails managed a short smile.

"I know you do." He paused for a moment. "Remember when you said I had my two tails for a reason?" She nodded once. "Well, I know why. All they were for was to fly after you this one time, to join you here."

"Tails don't." She began. She couldn't let him come with her. It wasn't fair. This world was his home, the people she had spent months living alongside were his friends. She had come to regard all of them as close family.

"Don't talk me out of it." He laid a hand softly against her cheek. "I'm coming with you." A moment later, the two of them intersected the beam moving down from queen Illumina and the two shafts of light merged into one; an intense beam that looked like an arrow from heaven, sticking through the Destroyer before channelling is; energy directly into Super Sonic, Super Shadow and Nazo.

"Get…get away from me!" Krish stammered backing away from the Armageddon as the energy filtered through him increased the glow surrounding all three of them.

"What's the matter? Is the great Destroyer feeling fear for once? What happened to the God of Death that struck terror into the hearts of millions?" Shadow asked with a thick sneer. "It's pay back time Krish!"

"You're finished!" Nazo added.

"Let's do it!" Sonic cried with a thick grin.

With that, all three of then leapt off the Armageddon and soured toward the giant, their bodies combining their energies into one huge orange glow.

"Go for it Sonic!" Amy called out from the top of the station.

"Finish it!" Eggman cheered, thrusting a fist into the air.

"Shadow!" Tikal cried out from the Typhoon.

"Hurry up!" Knuckles added in, straining to keep the flow to and from the Master Emerald stable. Sweat running down his brow as control began slipping.

"Get this guy!" Vector yelled up from the ground with all of Chaotix, even the former member Fang backing in chorus.

Rikoye watched from Black Arm mother ship as the three hedgehogs soured in, closing in on the Destroyer, who summoned his flames and sent the strongest blast any of them had ever seen tormenting down towards his opponents in an act of utter desperation. The commander's mouth went dry.

"Batter up!" Nazo announced, sending a force of his own energy rocketing toward propelling Shadow and Sonic forward at an even greater speed towards the fire as it screamed towards them.

"This is gold!" Scarlet muttered to herself, filming the entire event with her camera live to the whole world; who watched with wide eyes and dry mouths as the final seconds of the battle ticked away.

"Come on…do it!" The President began through clenched teeth, his fingers tightening into fists as time in the world seemed to crawl down.

"Come on. You loose this and my standing slips even further down!" Sam Speed yelled up from the wreckage of his crashed plane, the Major of Freelance Division alongside.

"You mess this up and you'll have me to contend with you here that Sonic!" Void cried out, his sabre as his side.

"You heard the man Sonic." Shadow added with a soft smirk, before bending his leg and slamming a soccer style kick directly into the blue hedgehog's back, propelling him even further and at a heightened speed never before imagined. "Don't mess it up!"

Super Sonic grinned evilly, before spinning around and around forming a ball. A second later, he and the fire meet and the world just seemed to freeze for a millennium. In that second, Cosmo met Tails' eyes. His outline was beginning to fade as well, but instead of running back to stable space like he should he remained with her. She family had been strict and relentless in their insistence that she follow in their footsteps, that all children of the bloodline become Seers. And while she had for filled their wishes, Tails had shown her that her dream of exploration wasn't beyond her reach either.

"You really want to loose up your home dimension?" She asked. He just smiled at her, his eyes alight with emotion.

"No." He replied. The young fox paused, unsure of how to say "But I don't want to loose you even more."

Slowly they moved towards each other and then their lips met in a soft kiss.

"I'll see you burning yet!" Krish hissed, anger, rage and…fear, burning intently in his eyes. Super Sonic just smirked the Destroyer as he soured through the flames heading on and on, an unstoppable bullet.

"Let's see you try!" Krish tried to pour on more fire, but it was too late, the coming storm was inevitable. "This is for you mom and Dad… See you in the funny pages!"

And then with a rocketing boom, the golden yellow hedgehog tore through the flames and slammed with tremendous force into the Destroyer's chest. "CHAOS BLAST!" Light erupted out like a rising sun as the blow hit it's target, swirling bands of blue, red and gold energy burning around it.

Krish stood there silently like a statue, eyes wide with utter shock and horror before Super Sonic came blasting out the other side of his body tearing out the flesh. Now with the gaping hole where his heart should be, he looked down at the wound before he stumbled back several paces and cried out with an ear piercing screech. Explosions of great force began erupting from within at various points across his body, pieces of flesh and skin scattering through the air. Beams of light began lancing out through the holes and reaching high into the sky. Parts of the cloven hands began crumbling away like dust, cracks running up and down across the entire body. Some conjoined and where they did, large pieces of the body fell off and collapsed to the ground crumbling into ash.

"No! This can't be happening!" Krish exclaimed, trying to back off but found his legs rotted to the spot and crumbling below him. "Brother… HELP ME!" Then with one final bang, the entire body exploded into a fire storm. The light carried on expanding outwards, looking from a distance like a nuclear explosion

Ripped from his physical form, Krish tried to return to Nexus the realm to which he was banished. But by now it was too late, the trap created by the Professor over fifty years ago was complete. The enrgy trails refused to let him go and with a sickening twist, they tore his soul in half.

One side was absorbed into the Master Emerald and sealed away like Chaos before him while the other was dragged by Queen Illumina and swallowed whole by the Precious Stone, still in Maginary World. Light began to fill the sky and suddenly everything was consumed by a white haze.

* * *

(In Chris' voice)

The battle is over, Krish is gone, one half of him trapped inside the Master Emerald and the other in the Precious Stone. But what happened to Tails and Cosmo? And does Rikoye, commander of the Black Arms have more bad news? Are more aliens on the way? The series epilogue is here next time on Sonic X, Picking up the pieces. Don't miss it!


	63. Episode 32

(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)

* * *

S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

Breaking the rules up until yesterday,

today being just generally loose,

With a punk philosophy,

saying to no longer run

towards the best goal,

that there is no meaning elsewhere.

With my biorhythm doubled,

the scenery is just countless lines

as the wind surrounds me.

I don't want to be

attacking Inside, Outside,

surpassing absolutely everything,

leaving nobody and nothing ahead.

Inside Outside GO! SONIC!

Absolutely Everything Yes! SONIC!

"Look Out!" and "Have a Nice"

the difference is paper thin.

Throw away the boredom, and just start running.

The rhythm of a carved heart -- that's my ism.

Being somewhat impatient.

Even if I no longer sleep, I keep running within my dreams

I am a runaway 365 days a year.

Things I want to do today, is what I will do tomorrow.

There's no difference, if I can feel it, I'll ride the beat.

Because I believe in you.

Takin' Take it GO! SONIC!

Thoroughly Yes! SONIC!

"Let's shake" and "Action Show" 1

Both are for friends.

Kick away the restraints, and do what your heart wants

I don't want to be attacking Inside, Outside, surpassing absolutely everything, leaving nobody and nothing ahead.

Inside Outside GO! SONIC!

Absolutely Everything Yes! SONIC!

"Look Out!" and "Have a Nice" 1

the difference is paper thin.

Throw away the boredom, and just start running.

S,O,N,I,C GO!

S,O,N,I,C GO!

GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!

* * *

-

Episode 32: Picking up the pieces

The planet Feson was an ocean world. Over eighty percent of it's surface was covered by one thick ocean. The only landmasses were thousands upon thousands of small islands and one large continent at the planet's north pole; and most of that was frozen ice. Despite the lack of real-estate this was the centre for the Confederate Fesonian Empire. Over half a spiral arm lay within their territory and their military had encountered thousands of those species, always with one goal above all others; to ensure the expansion and solidarity of their civilisation.

With their fleets being so large it became very difficult for them to mass coordinate the ships during the many campaigns they had undertaken. What kept them organized was a single mind capable of making all those calculations at once, working tirelessly to manoeuvre their arsenals into more effective formations and positions. And that mind belonged to their co-ordinator, the ruler of the Confederates for the past few millennium and the legendary brother of the universally renowned Destroyer.

A single wet orange-red eye slid open as the Prime Minster, the direct second in command of the empire entered the imperial chamber. The Dooms Eye, as he was known across the galaxy, had once been a regular Fesonian but like his brother he had undergone genetic experimentation which had changed him. Like the Destroyer, he had great power but the mutation had forever altered his physical form into some far more simple. The body was jet black and wet, slime occasionally dripping onto the floor to be cleared away by small service machines. Like a star fish, six long arms lanced out around the circular body, each pointed end wrapped around the outreaching ends of the machine that collected the information from all over their territory and then fed it directly into the emperor's brain. All information feeds were live, so the Dooms eye would always know exactly what was going on in a battle or expansion movement the moment it happened.

The Prime Minster dropped to one knee, his tail swaying out from behind his ceremonial armour. A tight fitted suit with a chest plate and other piece of protection across the arms and legs.

"You summoned me sire?" He asked as that single orange eye with an black silt in the middle looked down at him. The Dooms eye had a size three times that of the average Fesonian and was naturally intimidating.

"Prime Mister Doran." The voice came not through sound but rather through an invasive telepathic link. The Emperor had no vocal cords, nor even a mouth with which to speak naturally so his intentions were projected telepathically into the mind of those he wished to talk with. "How far away from our territory is the Sirius Star pattern?" The Prime Minster waved his cloven hand off to his left and a holographic projection of a star map appeared before him. At first it showed the whole galaxy, then it narrowed down on the left hand side, then even further until finally it highlighted two spiral arms on the outer edge. A lot of the map was blotted out as the scout ships of the fleet had not explored that far, but a good deal of those spiral arms had already been charted.

"This is your empire sire." Doran explained, pointing to the upper arm. The empire covered over a hundred worlds, entire civilisations enslaved or completely destroyed during the glorious wars of expansion. "And here is the Sirius pattern." His hand lowered to the second spiral and three stars highlighted themselves and a thick line darted between to join them up. "The stars Sirius 1, 2 and 3. They all lie within Combine territory."

"Highlight star number 3." Doom's eye continued and Doran did as he was ordered, bringing up the map for that star appeared. For one star it had an unusual number of planets orbiting it, over ten in fact; but most of them were either gas giants, baked or frozen solid. Only the third planet has had life reported on the surface but at the time the survey was made the resident sentient species had been too primitive to be of any concern. According to the date on the report, that was over six hundred years ago. The confederates had had no reason to return. There was nothing on the planet to attract their attention, no resources worth having and the population was too primitive to be used as practical slaves. Their technical knowledge was limited to simple stone cutting equipment at the time. It would have been impossible to train them to operate advanced technology such as theirs. "There….that planet…I could sense him." The emperor mused, apparently unaware that the Prime Minster could still hear him ramble. "There for a blip for a single day, then gone; completely. No sense of him outside dimension space either. Destroyed, inconceivable."

"Sire?" Doran asked and the single eye blinked.

"What is the nearest patrolling fleet to this system?" Doom's eye asked, changing the subject.

"The sixth attack force sire. Currently conducting practise manoeuvres in Centurion space near the Combine border." The Confederates had over a ten fleets across the vastness of space, all patrolling a sector of their territory or waiting for the order to advance into more. Connected to the information grid, the Dooms eye could co-ordinate every last one of them but once separated from the network he had trouble remembering the name of a single flagship.

"Thank you Prime Minster." Slowly that large eye closed and the Emperor reconnected himself back into the grid; the metallic constructs around him beginning to hum in response.

An unthinkable distance across space, orbiting an ice covered planetoid was the sixth fleet. A vast, invasion force that acted as the spear for the confederate armies. They struck first then held a target until the garrison forces arrived to replace them. Once relived they would head over to a new target and repeat the whole process again. Presently, with no orders coming through they had stopped by an uninhabited ball of ice to practice their take over technique. It was always the same, analyse the defences and then disarm them if possible. Once defenceless, exterminate all who resist and contain those who do not.

The force was made up for a thousand ships, most of them carriers containing troops while others were attack fighters and battle vessels. Some of the best hardware available to the confederates was contained inside this fleet.

"Admiral, I'm receiving orders from the Co-ordinator." Admiral Bal, present commander of the sixth fleet had been enjoying a little down time when the call came through to his personal quarters. Awaking with a start, he rolled over and fell out of his bunk hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Admiral Bal, I have a new assignment for your fleet." The Dooms Eye told him even before he was off the floor. The Fesonian found himself looked as a star map of three points, which narrowed down to one and the third planet in orbit. "I want your entire fleet to move yourselves to this solar system and observe the third planet. Investigate the planet's populace. If they have a technology level anywhere near that of practical space travel, occupy that world."

"Sire…that worlds lies in Combine space." The admiral began with wide yellow eyes. "If you wish to occupy it, then am I to assume that you wish to break the peace treaty and declare war?" The Dooms eye was silent after that, it's orange eye locked onto the fesonian with a single unblinking glare.

"You ask if I wish to declare war on the Combine?"

"That is the ultimate question I am asking sire and if you wish for me to do this, I require a definite answer."

"Then here is your definite answer Admiral….yes."

"As you command." The admiral replied with a short bow and the communication link cut itself off. The Fesonian let out a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair putting a hand to his head. Everyone knew when it was signed the peace treaty would never last. The Dooms Eye demanded conquest, not borders. The treaty signed with the Combine had been the first compromise ever undertaken by the Confederates, the first real attempt at last peace. Now it seems they were about to end that step forward.

Truth be told, not all Confederates wanted to live like this. The Dooms eye was a dictator and his people brutally oppressed, not to mention many other worlds. Some had tried to separate over the years and every attempt to make an independent state had been put down, violently. Often there were never any survivors and those that did live were made an example of.

The Dooms eye claimed it was to keep their culture pure, but Bal was somewhat more intelligent than the average citizen. The emperor didn't like change and demanded all those of Feson follow his rules; or else. Still, no matter how much he resented the rulers that did not reveal him off his duty.

"Commander… assemble the fleet. We have a new target."

"War with the Combine?" The Prime Minster asked in surprise, looking a little stunned by the emperors decision. "Are you certain sire?"

"The sixth fleet with be the spearhead movement and the second and eight fleets will follow behind as the second wave. The sixth will occupy the Sirius system and this will draw the Combine's attention." The Dooms eye started, explaining his strategy. "Once their backs are turned, our fleets will strike them from behind. Even if we fail to crush them completely, we will have gained a strong foot hold in their territory."

"But what if they launch attacks on our territory as a counter measure?"

"I'm counting on it." The Dooms eye looked rather amused by the very thought. "They will have no choice but to remove us from their space first but by the time they reach our ships, we will be entrenched and they will waste many resources in battle. In their exhausted state we can then overcome them with the fifth fleet which will remain behind our lines until I give the order."

"Four fleets?" Doran looked surprised by that amount. The Combine were big rivals, but that seemed a little excessive. One or two fleets they could spare, but four? "That would leave our remaining forces hard pressed to patrol our own space."

"That is why I summoned you here Prime Minster." The Dooms eye explained. "I am hereby ordering all docks and naval yards to completely three more Battle fleets to replace their numbers. I don't care if the slaves collapse and die, I want those new ships completed." Doran managed a small smile.

"As you command sire."

* * *

-

Despite endless propaganda messages blaring on televisions screens across the globe, G.U.N's control was not absolute. In fact, it was waning as they pulled more and more troops out of the garrisons to accumulate their space fleet. Bandit groups sprung up left right and centre, controlling the deserts around the cities on every continent attacking military convoys and salvaging wrecks to make a living.

Most of American, Europe and Russia; while officially under the control of their governments had very little in the way of order. Most major cities had been severely damaged in the fighting with the Black Arm fleet and they were deserted; no one wanted to go in and start rebuilding. That is until Hexagon stepped in; already a major military contractor the company gained even more power by being the one to motivate and organise the rebuilding of the cities. Before too long, the company began almost dangerously omnipresent in the government.

"Man just look at New York." Vector remarked, glaring out across the width of the city from the penthouse in which Chaotix set up shop. The city had been very badly damaged during the battle, entire blocks crumbed into the ground. A crashed Black Arm ship lay in the harbour, one end propped up into the air by the docks with several yachts around it; probably trying to figure out how to move the damn thing. Choppers marked with the G.U.N insignia were flying overhead making surveys for the Hexagon architects, who promised they could have the city up and running inside a few months. It was common knowledge Hexagon had access so some advanced technology, but making that promise seemed beyond even their capabilities.

"It's had better days I'll tell you that." Rei replied, looking out with him as the others cleaned up the office. Their headquarters had been fortunate to avoid being hit directly during the battle, but it had managed to get a hole blasted in it's roof. Until it was repaired, they were going to have to set up temporary residence elsewhere.

"The cops are too stretched thin trying to cope with the criminal underworld and the militaries too occupied with the repairs to help either. That leaves the city in a state of utter lawlessness. I've heard over a hundred reports of stolen goods, muggings, smuggling and other sins I won't even mention thus far; not to mention all the bandits out there." Vector added in, before gaining a smirk that showed every last one of his teeth and rubbing his hands together in glee. "Which means it's open season on the scum of the streets, boys!" Espio rolled his eyes.

"I still think we should have stayed with G.U.N for a while longer." Beck remarked, looking up through the giant hole in Vector's office roof to watch a chopper pass overhead. The repairmen would be in tomorrow to fix it, all of them Hexagon contractors of course. "Get some jobs from professionals, earn some good cash."

"I'm…not so sure that would have been a good idea." Espio warned him with a very worried expression on his face. The Spider-Mech had been given to them on rent and when they returned it…

"The Spider!" Okida screamed watching the salvage team bring in the shattered remains of the Machine Federation Mech into the hanger bay of Giant Wing, the dented ruin dumped on top of a transport truck and driven in. The robotic insect had been crushed, several of it's legs were missing and it's armour was riddled with blast holes, scorches marks passed over the rest. "What have those idiots done to my Mech!" The Major demanded, looking completely distraught at the condition of his prize from the Mars campaign.

"Don't worry Major, we'll be able to fix it." Topaz told him but her sentiments did little to calm the vampire bat down. "And I'll bet since it's advanced technology it'll help our researchers."

"If I ever meet those dead beats again I'll NAIL THEIR WORTHLESS HIDES TO THE WALL!"

"I think you're right on second thoughts." Beck mused, scratching the back of his head before shuddering. Part of the reason Vector insisted they come back here so quickly was to avoid being hunted by a crazed Major with an Anubis Walker.

"You know, it amazes me that you let Fang walk away." Rei began to Espio privately as Vector began running through the cost of building repairs on his pocket calculator. Espio just kept putting their valuables in boxes. "I mean, he did killed that friend of yours."

"I know that." Espio replied this time, sealing the box and standing up. "But still, he did help us out against that Krish guy. I feel like we owe him at least one chance." The chameleon managed a smile, flipping a shuriken between his fingers like a coin. "Besides, I'll catch him next time." Rei blinked once, looking slightly confused.

There was a knock at the front door of the office that consequently caved in to reveal Vanilla standing there with a stunned look on her face, apparently not expecting the office to be in this bad a shape.

"Your place got hit as well?" She asked, looking up at the new sky light. "Our apartment building got demolished." Most cities now looked like post war France, ruins of buildings absolutely everywhere.

"Yeah, so we're moving out." Charmee told her, buzzing through the air with a card board box in his hands.

"You do have a place to go, right?" Vanilla asked as Cream walked in past her quickly followed by her robotic guardian Emerl.

"Sure." Vector replied, helping Beck to stack the last of their stuff that survived the fighting into boxes. "There's another pent house across town we can set up in." Vanilla suddenly looked taken aback, almost disappointed. "What about you?"

"We're going to the Caribbean." Cream replied with an innocent childish smile. Every Chaotix Member looked up in surprise. Even Charmee turned around to stare, consequentially flying into the side of the wall.

"The what?" Espio asked in awe.

"Oh...it's just someplace to go for an extended Vacation." Vanilla replied with a nervous smile. "It didn't get as badly hit as other places so I thought we could go there. Just until the city gets back together again." Vector opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again, his eyes wide with a dazzled expression.

"Ooo…Ooo, Vector? Why don't we do that?" Charmee asked, buzzing across the crocodiles head incessantly.

"Say what?"

"Go on Vacation until the bad guys come back?"

"I'm up for some fun in the sun." Rei remarked with a goofy smile. "A couple of weeks getting a tan, white sands, blue seas…" He gained a sudden far off look. "Babes in bikinis as far as the eye can see." He was practically drooling now.

"Pervert…" Espio sighed rolling his eyes.

"Makes sense Vector." Beck added in. "I mean, we did just help save the world. I think we're owed a little time off."

"Who's gonna hold all our stuff until we get back, and get the new place ready?" The chameleon asked sceptically, believing that with the world on the point of breaking down that now was probably the worst time for a vacation.

"We can pay somebody." Rei announced. "Come on, even you can't say no to some down time." Espio would be lying if he said that it didn't sound appealing, but he hated leaving things unfinished.

Still, it looked like once again the final word was Vector's. At first, Vector was going to side with Espio; still adamant to get down to brininess with the crime wave he expected to sweep the city. But at that moment, the image of Vanilla in a swimsuit passed through his mind and that was that.,

"Pack your bags boys!" He stated with a wide grin, putting his fists on his hips. "Hunting season's being postponed for a while, we're hitting the beach!"

Fang watched the pent house from across the distance between the two buildings. The weasel had been left confused by the events he had been forced to endure over the last few days. True it was necessity that compelled him to fight alongside Chaotix against Krish, but still; fighting the same enemy with Espio at his side had forced him to remember something he felt long forgotten. A stirred feeling of regret and doubt had torn itself unbidden and refused to be banished no matter how hard he insisted.

"Bunch of softies." He muttered, before turning to leave.

* * *

-

Okida had been true to his word, G.U.N had indeed managed to keep people off Angel Island while the Echidna guardian had been away. A large wire rim fence marked with G.U.N warning signs had kept any develops away. Not many people wanted to cross the military after the last few emergency powers had been voted in, unfortunately however since the President's term in office was over he had the government revoke the powers so that his successor would not have the same abilities he had in war time.

This meant that the Echidna had arrived home just in time. Any sooner and people would have been perfectly within their rights to start building housing estates on the island.

"Tourists…" Knuckles muttered to himself, shaking his head at the sight of a cruise ship heading out of the island bay. He watched them go and as soon as they were beyond the confines of the shallows before carrying on. For reasons he dared not even think about, the Master Emerald he was carrying seemed heavier than it had before. Possibly perhaps because it contained one half of the Destroyer. More likely it only seemed heavy because it was now contaminated in his mind. Krish had been the source of all ill to befall both Earth and Mobius and had made many lives, including his own, miserable.

"Krish is divided, his mind carved in two." The words of Queen Illumina still hung in his mind as he walked through the jungle paths. "Without two halves of the whole he is no longer sentient and will pose no threat, so long as the Precious stone and the Master Emerald do not join together in one location." The fact that half of the being ultimately responsible for the destruction of his people was now trapped inside the object he was honour bound to protect did not sit well with him.

"Home sweat home…" He breathed, coming out off the jungle edge and out into the open hilly area of the island. In the distance he saw his final destination. Sitting on the top of the large hillock was the Emerald Shrine, a faded and grey ruin long since claimed by vines and creepers. It was here he had fled to so long ago as an infant, running through the jungle rain before finally ended up in the presence of the Master Emerald. He could remember nothing before that. He had always been the Guardian of the Emerald and the island which it kept aloft.

Angel Island wasn't that large but it had quite an extensive forest and jungle on it's surface, as well as three small mountains jutting up directly in the centre. The ruins of the Echidna city lay scattered around the island, absorbed by the undergrowth. Occasionally he would come across statues half embedded in the jungle plants. Depictions of heroic Echidna warriors marching out to war in defence of their home country, murals of battles won, great conquests. For a long time, Knuckles had felt proud to be a part of something so grand even if it was long gone. Now, he felt sickened by it. The murals no longer held the same pull because he knew what they were; ancient propaganda. The Echidna's were conquerors, subjugating other mobian races in the name of their god.

"History is written by the victors." He remembered Chuck had told him once although he forgot when exactly. He knew the murals left out the massacres, the death and injustices performed by their warriors in their conquests. He wondered briefly what story those subjugated would tell is they saw these depictions now?

Reaching the bottom of the shrine, he put the Master Emerald down on the stony ground and paused. Something was wrong. It wasn't something dangerous, but something profound. The feeling of homeliness here had faded and most of what he got from looking at the place where he had spent most of his life was a depth of loneliness.

He had spent the past few months fighting Machine Federations, alien sects and dark gods; charging into battle alongside Sonic and the others. And now he was about to return to his life of isolation. True he liked solitude most of the time, but that was because he had grown up alone. Actually spending time amongst other people had left him with a longing for company. The Master Emerald glowed in response. Yes, the jewel was would always be here but it wasn't much of a conversationalist.

A shadow fell over the shrine steps and he glanced up to see a new addition to the scenery. Rouge was sitting there, on top of one of the stone pillars that had once held the canopy roof.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked, gesturing to the empty space at the top of the shrine behind her.

"The mood." Knuckles replied, leaning back against the stone looking melancholy. "Something just seemed wrong." The Master Emerald was mere meters away from it's proper place and right now he couldn't summon the willpower to move it up the steps.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, floating down to his side and sitting with him. The red echidna shook his head and leaned back, crossing his arms behind his neck and staring up at the clouds.

"Nah…I'm ok." He managed, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of the grass on his back. Rouge watched him for a minute, before leaning back herself. Silence endured between them for a moment before Knuckles cast her a quick side glance. Rouge was just laying there looking up at the sky above with a short smile on her face, her sapphire eyes unblinking. "Won't the Major be wanting you to report back to Freelance soon?" He asked before thinking. Rouge closed her eyes and her smile widened a little.

"No." She replied simply as she crossed her legs in front of herself. "I quit." Knuckles sat bolt upright in response, his expression utterly priceless.

"Say what?" Rouge began giggling; she wished her had a camera at this moment. The look on his face had to be captured for future generations. "You…actually…quit?" So stunned the Echidna was left with his mouth hung open in utter shock. "

"Don't get me wrong, I love the whole spy gig, but I think I'm getting too tangled up with G.U.N." She winked at him. "But this is one gal who wants to make her own choices in life. So I guess I'll be doing some _'truly' _freelance work from now on." The Echidna breathed out before lying back down.

"Well, whatever floats your boat." He muttered before closing his eyes. He could just put the Master Emerald in it's place and get the Island back up into the sky but for some reason he found the caw of the seagulls too soothing to be interupted.

"'But first I think I'll take a vacation." Rouge continued. "Somewhere sunny and warm, isolated, away from the hustle of everyday life." Knuckles shot her a sideways glance sceptically and Rouge just smiled at him.

"Somewhere like 'here' for instance?" He said the words before she had the chance to. Rouge's smile refused to leave her face.

"Why Knuckles, what a great idea. It's perfect. I can spend several months up here taking it easy. Taking in the sun…" He paused to eye the Echidna's well built muscles under the red fur. "And the sights." Knuckles turned even more red then he already was. "Isn't this the point when you tell me to leave your island?" The Echidna paused, before standing up.

"You can stay." He stated after a moment. He was blushing furiously and was desperately trying to keep her from seeing it to save himself some embarrassment. Rouge blinked in surprise, apparently not having expected this reaction at all. "You'd be welcome company." He added after a moment, before picking up the Master Emerald and hoisting it onto his shoulder.

"Ok, who are you and what did you do with the real Knuckles?" She asked coyly as the Echidna began his way up towards the top of the shrine.

"I'm serious." Rouge followed him up, his arms crossed behind her back. Finally they two of them reached the top to behold the jewel encrusted stone dip that had held the Master Emerald upright for centuries. "I thought for some time that once all the fighting was over I could just go back to the way everything was. Just by myself on the island, the way I'd grown accustomed to." He paused, managed a smile. "Guess I was wrong." The female bat smiled in response and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to be that lonely again, to be separated from everyone who treated me like a family member." He stopped to draw in a deep breath and gather his courage before turning to look her back directly in the face. "Especially you Rouge." A second later, he lowered the giant jewel back into it's proper place. In the moments in took for the power to begin surging through the island again, Rouge slipped her arms under his and hugged him from behind; her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Hey Froggy, this looks like a good a place as any!" Big began, settling down on the entrance to a thick river; his amphibian friend hopping after him.

"Croak." Froggy replied, leaping from the ground up onto Big's shoulder. The large cat sat down on the sand and cast out his line, the lure sliding beneath the coastal waves a short distance away. After the fighting was over, Big had said good bye to everyone and wandered off on his own again; fishing rod in hand. The cat was the nomadic type. He liked living apart from people, they were far too noisy for his taste and besides; he had Froggy for keep him company.

"Oh I've got a bite already!" Big yelled out as the end of his fishing pole began to twitch. Before he could start to reel in, the ground beneath his feet began shaking like a thousand earthquakes were happening at once. He lost balance and rolled over and nearly squashed Froggy in the progress. "Oh, it's a really big one!" He muttered through clenched teeth as he tugged at his fishing rod for all he was worth.

Both of them watched in awe as the far side of the bay began to slowly ascend, reaching higher and higher into the sky before finally tugging free of the ground all together; the remains of vine growth trailing the link between the two landmasses before they all began snapping one by one.

"Croak!"

"You can say that again Froggy…" The cat put a hand over his eyes to protect them from the glare of the sun as he watched. Slowly Angel Island moved at first, before it began gathering speed; accelerating it's ascend. The hole it had left in the water was quickly filled by a massive tidal wave that surged in to fill the empty space and soft end of it smashed into Big end on and swept him and his amphibian friend back into the trees.

His fur matted with sea water and Froggy upside down in the bush nearby, Big watched Angel Island disappeared through the cloud cover and finally disappear from sight. "Well there goes Knuckles." The cat sighed, before reclaiming his fishing rod before the churning tide swept it away. "Come along Froggy." He picked the frog up and place him back on his shoulder. "Let's go find another spot to fish."

* * *

-

The President's term in office officially came to an end next week, upon which time his successor would enter the White House. Michael would be lying if he claimed he didn't feel slightly apprehensive about leaving everything in charge of another, but since he had been fighting to preserve the whole point of democracy then he guessed he had little option. Besides, the world had managed to get along fine for several thousand years without him before.

The Black Arms had settled on Mars, creating a colony on the jungle continent to repair their fleet and replenish their numbers, according to their command at any rate. No one had the nerve asked him exactly what 'replenishing their numbers' entailed. A few cabinet members had been upset that the President had agreed to this, finding the prospect of a new world for them to explore too hard to resist. But Space travel was still quite limited to the military, at least for the time being and the average citizen hadn't much incentive to travel the cosmos. In any case, Mars looked too beautiful from the Earth now to be spoiled by wrecked by expansion.

Everything looked pretty good for the future now, at is until Commander Rikoye returned to the White House to give the President grave tidings.

"The Confederates are on their way." Was his simply statement. The President sat rigid in his chair, his eyes wide in the stunned expression. "When Krish was destroyed, he must have sent a physic shockwave radiating out through space. A wave completely invisible to all creatures bar one." The commander hesitated briefly as if afraid to say anything more, before he summoned some courage and continued. "His brother, the Dooms Eye."

"Dooms Eye?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Emperor. A creature ancient by your standards, an extremely intelligent mind; capable of controlling the movements of entire fleets at a single time." The commander gave over a brief account of the emperor, a creature snapped like a star-fish by armed with terrible physic power. He could tear creatures apart using only his mind. "Our early warning sensors have detected a spearhead fleet leaving Confederate Space and heading directly towards this planet."

"My god…" The President began in a hushed whisper, running his hands through his head. Just one thing after another with this job! "How well equipped are they?"

"Confederates…as you say…do not play around." Rikoye replied flatly. "Their military technology is cutting edge. You will be out numbered and out paced by technology and if our estimations are correct, they will enter your solar system within two of your years." Michael fell forward onto the desk with a loud groan.

"Now this is very interesting." Doctor Eggman remarked with a thick smirk, running his fat fingers through the ends of his moustache as he observed the meeting though one of his robotic spies that had infiltrated the White House. The metallic insect was hiding in the light on the ceiling of the oval office, it's camera sending the live images directly back to the Egg Moon.

So, more aliens were on their way where they; an invasion force no less. "Oh yes, this fits in with my plans perfectly." The Doctor snickered, his eyes glinting evilly behind his glasses. The Egg Carrier 4 was currently docked with the imperial main headquarters for adapting, as well as replacements for the Egg Fleet to be replaced. It was going to take a lot of resources but thankfully, a good deal of the bandit gangs on the surface of the Earth were in his employ and were supplying him with good salvaged materials.

It was a shame the Armageddon station had been destroyed. With that under his control, The Doctor could have overtaken both the Earth and Mars within a couple of days and with a power base established, set out to conquer the rest of the universe. Still, it was probably for the best. The Armageddon station had caused too much trouble to be worth it and quite frankly Eggman was glad to finally see the back of this entire affair.

_"Your plans Doctor?"_ Becoe asked, looking up at his creator as Eggman sat in his metallic throne. Holographic reads outs showing imperial reports spun around him and his eyes were slowly travelled from one to another. _"What plans?"_

_"I thought we were just building up our forces?"_ Decoe added in, before the two robots shrugged in unison.

"Oh we've got two whole years to do that." The Doctor replied with a short chuckle, rubbing his chin with an evil grin on his lips. "Besides, I'm thinking ahead to the future." His smile widened as plans began forming in his mind. "And this could prove extremely advantageous."

* * *

-

Flip card 1:

Name: The Dooms Eye

Description: Brother of the Destroyer and ruler of the Confederates.


	64. Episode 32, part 2

Flip card 2:

Name: Sonic the Hedgehog

Description: A self willed hero, his path of destiny unknown...

* * *

- 

Government popularity being at an all time low, the G.U.N intelligence branch and the FBI did everything they could to conceal the fact that an alien invasion fleet was on it's way. While cover ups of this calibre had been possible in the past; the Government was in such a poor state that it slipped out and two days later on the day the President left office, half the planet knew of the impending threat.

Most of whatever control G.U.N enjoyed seemed to disappear over night. Despite it being unintentional, the Black Arm's arrival had destroyed order on the Earth and most of the planet descended into utter chaos. Countries and nations, even super powers like the Russian republic and the United States broke down into uncountable factions.

The new President was signed into office an hour later and proved to be ambitious if nothing else. Quickly he gathered the G.U.N fleet's and began reclaiming the control the Government lost by sending out ground forces of tanks, infantry and Mech's.

Okida could see exactly where this was going and he sighed out load. Well, at least they hadn't declared martial law yet; but that wasn't far off. It wouldn't end with just putting the nation back together, the expansion would continue until most of the planet was under their direct control. Okida hadn't signed on for that.

Already he was making plans to leave the army, which given the new powers the Government was exercising would not be easy. Desertion in a time of crisis could be viewed as treason. Nearly all of the personnel assigned to Freelance Division felt the same way, so instead of them simply leaving individually, Okida proposed to simply change their professions.

"That was scene today when newly elected President Jones gave a public address to the nation on the steps of the White House." Scarlet Garcia began, trying to raise her voice over the low rumbling of conversation of the crowds still gathered outside the fenced perimeter of the White House.

Security had been stepped up dramatically in the capitol. The very minute Jones had been appointed, cities that put under the direct control of the military ground forces. Tanks were now a common sight in Washington, infantry on either side. Only a few Yahger Mech's had been placed in the peace keeping forces and all others had been diverted into G.U.N's main forces. "In his speech, the President was forced to admit that the rumours of an invasion fleet on it's way to Earth are indeed true and had reassured the nation and indeed the world that G.U.N has the situation well in hand." A loud thud resonated through the air as a Mech walked past her in the background, moving to break up the crowds which by now were getting rowdy. Many of them did not appreciate military forces moving down their streets. "Also he promised a swift end to the state of unrest that resulted after the conflicts." She continued after the foot steps of the walker faded away. Okida flipped the small television set off, his point already illustrated.

"Mercenaries?" Topaz repeated, looking slightly taken aback by his choice of career change. The Major had gathered all of Freelance Division on the bridge of the Blue Typhoon. The ship had taken a great amount of damage during the battles and was being repaired, refitting, rearmed and upgraded while the custody of the G.U.N technicians. Which of course meant the Government intended the ship to be part of their fleet.

"G.U.N's quickly becoming something it's not supposed to be." The Major replied flatly, folding his arms. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I enlisted to protect the public, not fight a war for territory."

"I'm with you." Hare remarked with a slight nod of his hair, his two long ears flopping over his face. "Getting drafted into defenders is one thing, but being part of something like that is where I draw the line."

"While it's true that the military's turning into an oppressive force rather than a peace keeping one…" Everyone looked Bark as the polar bear began muttering. His eyes were closed and a large hand raised to his chin in thought. "And if we do take this career change, you be sure we'll be made to look like traitors and branded outlaws."

"They'll have worse things to worry about than us." Bean managed, chuckling as he leaned back on one of the seats. "In two years time they'll have the Confederates ramming their fleet down G.U.N's throat and in the meantime, bandits and a disgruntled population near rebelling point. Against all that, are they really going to have time to chase down a few deserters?" Okida let them talk amongst themselves for a couple of minutes, but clearly he could see that arguing was going to get them nowhere.

"I'm leaving G.U.N as soon as my Mech's are up to factory standard." He declared, silencing all of them in the midst of their arguments. "You can stay or come with me, I'm not going to force anyone to do anything." With that, he left them to make up their own minds.

Leaving G.U.N was not an impetuous decision for him. But he'd been fighting to keep people safe from dictatorship and he wouldn't be a party to anything that produced that result. The military, even the Government in the aftermath of the battle was growing corrupt. The major was inclined to believe that it was due to the Michael stepping down as President as soon as his terms were up, he'd done a damn good job of holding the nation and indeed most of the world together during the troubled times.

Okida didn't trust this new President and for more than personal reasons. The man was clearly a Hexagon puppet, but since that company now had divisions and people in powerful positions in all of Earth's industries, including the Media, no one had said anything.

After a while he found himself wandering into the cargo bay of the ship. The place still housed a few of the planes and other vehicles they brought with them to Mars, most of them damaged beyond repair. What could be salvaged had been stripped away and taken into storage else ware. "Still here?" He asked, casting a glance across the catwalk to see Amy stand there with her hammer at her side. The pink hedgehog had he weapon balanced on her right shoulder with the handle in her left hand.

"You guys taking way Tails' baby now are you?" She asked harshly without looking up at him. G.U.N had already made it quite clear that they intended to take the Blue Typhoon for themselves and incorporate it as part of their growing fleet. In fact, they were commandeering military based hardware from any source they could find.

"We flew this ship." A voice stated from below in the hanger. Looking down, the Major found Chuck standing there with his hands on his hips. His grandson Chris was beside him, looking equally annoyed. "And Tails built it. G.U.N didn't have anything to do with it."

"It's got no right to take it." Chris added in.

"When they do, it won't be me or my division doing it." Okida replied sourly, walking past Amy and carrying on to the door on the far side. He paused for a moment. "Incidentally, a Black Arm Chaos generator was installed to take the place of an Emerald." Amy finally looked over at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "And by nine tonight, the repairs and upgrades on the ship should be ready."

"Why are you telling us this?" Chuck asked him from below with a raised eyebrow. Okida chuckled in his throat.

"The commission won't be here to pick up the ship until tomorrow morning. That leaves a whole night that the ship sits here mostly untended." He turned back towards her. "You're right, all of you, Tails built this vessel and it isn't G.U.N's to keep." A smirk forged itself. "I say we take it."

"We?" Amy's, Chuck's Chris' and another voice asked in unison. Looking back the way he'd come, the Major saw Topaz standing there.

"Yes 'we'." Okida replied. "We all fought and lived on this ship for months. Tails built it, maintained it and piloted it. It's a civilian ship not something the military can just take whenever they please." Topaz's face remained unreadable, before a short smile parted her lips.

"You know, we all voted to follow you; even Omega." The Major's smiled widened in response.

"Got my vote too." Chuck commented with a short smile.

"Me too." Chris added. Okida's smirk maintained itself.

"And you?" He asked. Topaz walked past Amy and right up to the vampire bat, looking him directly in the golden yellow eyes. Okida tried to meet her with an unblinking stare as well, but those sparkling dark blue eyes made his legs weaken.

"Of course I'm coming too, you dolt." She told him, laying her arm on his shoulder and fixing him with a smirk.

Amy remains still for a second, before a smile spread across her lips followed by an evil, near sadistic expression. If a relationship as unusual as that could blossom, then there was hope for her yet! Some of her old spark which she'd lost over the fighting and journeys returned and she knew, her heart sang; Sonic would be her's!

* * *

- 

It was be foolish of the good Doctor, while monitoring the Black Arms on Mars; to forget G.U.N as well. His spy satellites and robotic spies were everywhere on both planets, observing the preparations for war from the shadows. Even the Black Arms with their advanced technology could not detect the eyes watching them.

Total surveillance proved to be most advantages. With the Egg Moon's strategic location, Eggman could watch them all and wait for a moment of weaken, and then his armies would be all over both of them.

First he would attack the Black Arms, eliminating the biggest threat and claiming and entire planet in which to launch his operations. And if he managed to acquire some of their hardware then all the better. From there he would have the technology and the capabilities to conquer the Earth, regardless of whether they'd developed space travel or not.

At least, that had been his original plan. Until he learnt of the impending arrival of the Confederates that is. Much about them was virtually unknown, but they were on their way, that was a fact that could not be denied They would not care what they saw when they got here. They would conquer what they could and destroy what they could not, according to the Black Arm commander at any rate.

"A people after my own heart." He grinned insanely to himself. For his new plan to work, as much intelligence had to be gathered about them as possible. He had to know them inside out, their customs, their history, their strengths and most importantly, their weakness'. Right now, the only ones who could supply him with that information were the Black Arms. He doubted however they would be in a sharing mood with someone who opened fire on their fleet.

Eggman stood before a holographic representation of Mars, constantly being observed by his ships in high orbit. The alien sect had started constructing colonies at various locations around the planet. It looked doubtful they were simply there to repair damages to their fleet, in fact it seemed like they were making themselves at home there. That in itself really didn't surprise Eggman. The Black Arms had been looking for a planet to hide or mount a defence from when they came to this solar system. They had intended to use both planets, but had had to settle for just Mars. "They should be creating defences for when they get here." He muttered to himself, running his fingers through his moustache.

He glanced back across the room to the three small repair depo's active in the laboratory. Each one was a cylinder that lanced between the floor and the ceiling, several metal bars curving around the top, leaving a short space to act as a door in the front. Metal arms armed with pincers, drills and other kinds of equipment descended from the roof of the thing to do work on the three metallic shells standing there. Eggman had been able to recover the wrecks, but a great deal of damage had been dealt. It was going to take quite a while to put them back together again. Metal Knuckles had his entire arm ripped off and dents strewn throughout his armour. Egg Robo's head had been missing and a replacement was currently being attach. As for E1004: Theta, he was in a terrible state. His gas tanks which supplied fuel for his flamethrowers had exploded when he hit the ground, leaving the wreck in a charred mess. That was going to take far longer to put right than the others. But at least, he had his elite robots back; never mind in what condition they were in. The first thing he had done once he reclaimed their defeated shells was to wipe from their memory every last trace of the Metal X program, replacing it with his own software. Eggman's smile widened. No matter how many set backs occurred, he would rule both the Earth and Mars and then once he built up enough force; he would move out to take the entire universe.

* * *

- 

Wandering the roads alone, Sonic got time to think. In fact, he was so engrossed in his thoughts he wasn't even running. He just plodded on along the side of the desert road.

Most people had hit the road after the fighting ended and the cites left in ruin. A lot of civilians had died during the battle. The blue hedgehog had decided to do himself a favour and not learn how many, it would only depress him even further and in was in the pits as it was.

Tails was gone, Cosmo was gone, Void was gone...heck, a load of people had just up and left. So instead of staying around, Sonic had hit the road. Lumina Flowlight had tried to explain what had happened to him, but the blue hedgehog didn't understand a word she was saying. Half the stuff people from Maginaryworld went on about confused him, but Chuck had been able to partially translate. Cosmo had given up her presence in his dimension and the discharge had allowed a joining of the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald and even Illumina's Precious Stone. It was this power that had helped them destroy Krish. Tails however had leapt after the green haired seer at the last second and when the smoke cleared, both of them had gone missing.

They were alive, that was something he would have he was going to have to take as compensation. Through his mind ran the events that transpired, repeating themselves unbidden in an endless loop. The Destroyer stood there, a giant towering over everything and then in that next second Super Sonic had plagued straight through his chest and tore out the other side. Krish tried to stop it desperately, but it was far too late. He was undone. Cracks spread all over his entire body and parts began flaking off like ash, beams of light lancing out from the holes and up into the sky. The green fire died away to nothing and in one sudden burst, everything was consumed by a blinding white light.

Rikoye, the commander of the Black Arms watched in mute awe as the being his people had feared for eons was destroyed before his very eyes. His essence was prevented from being returned to Nexus by the stream of energy passing through him. Instead it was divided in half and siphoned off into both the Master Emerald and the Precious Stone.

The light finally dimmed away, before vanishing all together. The Destroyer had gone, only a blackened stain on the ground the only sign that he had ever been here. A moment later, all the cybernetic drones began falling out of the sky towards the ground, as if without someone to direct them they had no purpose and simply turned themselves off. Like rain they crashed into the ground and broke open on impact.

"One last thing to do." Shadow told both Nazo and Super Sonic once the golden hedgehog teleported back. They all glanced down towards the bottom of the Armageddon station. The Eclipse Cannon was drained of power and offline, but it's very existence was a threat to everything in universe. No one could be entrusted with it, especially not anyone on this planet. Nazo and Sonic made a move to do something about it but Shadow simply held out his hand to stop them. "This one's on me."

Super Sonic and his transparent companion had to settle for getting all the others on the station out before Super Shadow made his move. The silver hedgehog watched as they left, a Chaos Control carrying them out away from the station. Smiling, he leant across and placed his hand on the wall. Even in Super form, he would never have had the energy to translocation something of this scale by himself; but with the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald and the Precious Stone itself backing him he felt like he could do anything. "CHAOS CONTROL!" For a moment, the entire planet seemed to be bathed in an eerie green light and a second later it faded. In that single instant the Armageddon station disappeared and then reappeared high in the night sky, miles above the Earth's surface just beyond the atmosphere. Everyone had already gotten off the station and all that were left where a few of the cybernetic drones Krish had commandeered.

Shadow could just leave the station here, but there was no guarantee that someone like Eggman couldn't just some along and use it for their own purposes. It had to be destroyed. "Rest in peace Gerald…Maria." He muttered to himself, before clenching his fists. "CHAOS BLAST!"

Super Sonic watched from the planet below as a new star appeared in the morning sky for a moment, glowing bright green before fading away. The power faded within him and his quills sagged, dropping down behind his hand and changing from golden to royal blue.

It's finished." Nazo breathed, before his form became even more transparent; fading away to near nothing.

"Hey, are you ok?" Sonic asked, turning towards him. Nazo wasn't just fading, parts of him were vanishing in patches completely.

"I will be soon enough." The white hedgehog replied with a smile. "You know, Krish was wrong. True enough Gerald knew I would exist one day, he manipulated events on both Earth and Mobius to make sure I did." With more parts of him disappearing, he sat down; his outline nearly invisible now. "But I've a purpose beyond the death of the Destroyer. Something more I have to aspire to. As Cosmo would say, we've a destiny that stretches on forever." Sonic blinked.

"Profound man. Just what's that purpose supposed to be?" Nazo faded away completely, vanishing into nothing laving beyond not even a trace of his physical existence. Before he did so all Sonic could catch was.

"We'll all find that out sooner or later." And so the blue hedgehog had been left alone with his thoughts. He'd done it, he'd actually done. He'd stopped the unstoppable…the being referred in folk lore are the Destroyer. An opponent he never thought he'd be able to stop, had been stopped.

That lifting feeling of jubilation did not last long. Cosmo and Tails were gone, and even Queen Illumina was unable to bring either of them back.

"Whatya mean you can't get them here!" Sonic demanded grabbed Void by his cape and dragging him in close for a sharp glare, his teeth barred. The small imp like creature simply batted each of the hedgehog's hands away and floated back a safe distance.

"The how and why Cosmo managed to combine the energies of the Master Emerald, the Precious Stone and the even the Chaos Emeralds themselves is still in question." He told the blue hedgehog, who looked like he was capable of bloody murder at this present point. "She attempted some form of dimensional transit, the resulting warp would have catapulted her and Tails across realties to anywhere in existence." Void paused to survey those around him, noticing that Sonic wasn't the only one with a murderous look in his eye. "Hey don't blame me, I didn't invent dimension travel!" He announced, holding up his arms defensively.

"Well can't you or Illumina go find them?" Cream asked, looking up at him. Void found himself glad he was taller than _someone _in this reality.

"There are billions of realties, they stretch across infinity and each contains a universe of it's own. Tails and Cosmo could be in any one of these and to hand search each one would take quite literally forever." Knuckles snarled angrily and punch the side of a wall, cracks running through up to the ceiling.

"That's not good enough!" The echidna shouted seizing void by his short cape.

"You think if I had a solution I'd be here arguing with you?" Void asked back angrily slapping the red echidna's hands down. "No, I'd be out there bringing them home as we speak. Instead, it's going to take me months to locate the dimension warp trail that sent them on their way. A transit isn't supposed to be used, it generates tremendous amounts of energy and is far too unstable to control. To find a warp through all that mess is near impossible."

Sonic turned away, his emotions boiling to a pitch. His life was a naturally changing thing, but Tails had always been there with him and now he was just….gone…he refused to accept it!

"You have my word I will try everything within my power to locate them." Queen Illumina told them as she checked her spear for cracks it may have sustained in the battle. Satisfied that it had not been blemished, she dismissed it and the weapon faded away. Her broken bones had taken seconds to heal, the tattoos running over his arms glowing bright blue as more healing energy passed through her body. "But even with my own resources, it will take some time to discover where they sent. A transit warp is often quite random." The goddess sighed. "But why Cosmo I can't help but wonder? Why would she even attempt it? She is certainly not skills enough for even basic dimension travel so she must have known she could never hope to control a transit." It was a question none of them could answer.

The others had little time to lament however. A few hours later, the news of the impending arrival of the Fesonian Confederates was everywhere. Whatever news and radio channels that remained following the battles had devoted themselves to gathering as much information as possible from the already air tight G.U.N intelligence network.

"One year?" Amy asked of Jailos when their Black Arm fiend sent them a message. She had rejoined her people after the battle and left with them for the therefore planet Mars. "One year after the Confederates get here, then what?" The alien hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right English words to reply before continuing.

"If they try to invade." She began. She wasn't using the translation device around her neck. Some of the Black Arms were attempting to speak English and many other earth bound languages. Still, her words seemed a little primitive at the moment so they had to bare with her. "Ships will be….crossing Combine space."

"Combine?" Chuck repeated, looking up from his work.

"Combine…name of federation this ….area of spiral arm." She had to pause as the words, especially the plurals were causing her tongue to trip over itself. "Invade and….violate borders. Other fleets come…fight."

"And it'll take them a year to get here?" Chuck looked a little horrified at the idea of being at Confederate mercy for 364 days before there was any hope of outside assistance.

"Space…big place to cross." Jails replied, spreading out her long arms to emphasize a large area. "Your planet…set very far away from nearest Combine city."

With that the entire Earth had been set of a time schedule. In two years, the invasion fleet would arrive which left them that time to prepare a defence. After that, all they had to do was hold out for another year before help arrived. While a few of the others returned to their old lives and others drew plans, Sonic left; his interest in it all lost.

A convoy of cars, vans and trucks flew past him up the road; refugees from a nearby city apparently looking for one of the many small settlements springing up all over the place. The blue hedgehog stopped and stared up after them and managed a small smile. Sure he felt miserable, but those people had greater inclination to. Instead of wallowing in misery they got up and tried to start again.

Well, good luck to them.

A sudden volley of missiles rang out, warning shots impacting the side of the road forcing the convoy to come to a screeching halt. Sonic looked out and several Walkers emerged from a hidden position that had been disguised to look like a sand dune. They were G.U.N class Mech's, two Big Foot's and a Yahger. But those weren't military tactics. Those people were being attacked by bandits.

Acting on instinct, Sonic soured off his feet turning into a blur. Several men armed with guns came rushing forward to secure the people trying to run, some of them children. Before they could pull the triggers, a gust of wind shot past tearing the weapons out of their hands. Sonic did a U-turn through the sand and landed an upper cut across the nearest on flooring him in a second.

The two Big Foot Mech's marched closer, the machine guns on their fronts riddling the ground coming up towards him with bullets. Somersaulting backwards, the blue hedgehog rebounded off the side of one of the trucks and flew up into the air. Once reaching the apex of his height, he began spinning; the entire body curving around before rocketing forward with a loud boom. The first Mech went crashing down into the sands with a loud bang, the legs torn out from under it.

"Kill him!" The bandit leader in the safety of the Yahger's cockpit declared angrily.

"You nuts man?" One of those on the ground asked, backing away from the bleu hedgehog as he straightened himself up and dusting his hand. "Yo, I'm not going one on one with Sonic the Hedgehog." And with that, those on the ground and the remaining Big Foot made a run for it.

"Damn cry badies!" The bandit leader snarled, before turning the attention of the larger walker completely toward the blue hedgehog. "I don't care what your rep is, you just ruined a perfectly good heist!" Missiles shot down and Sonic shot up into the air avoiding the explosion. The machine gun turrets flew into action and one came viciously close to hitting the blue hedgehog before he landed on the top of the machine and used a spin attack to tear the missile launcher pads off the top of the Mech.

Somersaulting backwards, Sonic flipped through the air once before tearing the glass away from the cockpit with a kick. The fragments flew back into the face of the pilot who had to raise his arms to defend his eyes. This left the walker completely immobile for a second and a second was all Sonic needed to slam right through the heart of the machine and tear out the other end.

"This is getting boring." He remarked to himself, walking away from the Mech as it collapsed to the ground with a large thud. The people had long since returned to their vehicles and gone, their convoy a few shimmering dots in the distance. Hadn't even stopped to say thank you. Well who could blame them really? That last battles had ruined the Earth, not many would be in need of his autograph.

A loud whistling passed through the air and sonic looked up to see a pair of golden energy bolts rocket across the sky an crashed head first into the Yahger Mech behind which, he had risen to it's feet and had a lock with it's machine gun.

"Sloppy work at best Sonic." The blue hedgehog looked off to the side of the road as the machine crashed down again, quickly consumed by fire. As expected, there was Shadow. His arms crossed his front of him and red eye locked onto Sonic, a relentless unlinking stare. "Your mind was else ware."

"If you want to be my coach come back some other time, I'm not in the mood." Sonic replied with a sigh before walking off. A blur of red and black passed by him and instantly Shadow was blocking his path.

"Are you just going to walk away and ignore the world?" Sonic simply pushed past him and carried on. "You know Cosmo did what she had to so we had a chance of beating that monster and Tails wouldn't let her go alone." The blue hedgehog paused, remaining stationary with his back to Shadow.

"I saw it ya know." He sighed after a moment. "When we first set out to Mars I noticed the attraction between them. Guess it was more than that." A harsh wind crossed through the desert; whipping up a few tall dust columns that carried on past the two hedgehog's and across the wasteland. Sonic chuckled in his throat, managing a small smirk. "Guess my little buddy's not a kid anymore." Shadow could sense from Sonic a deeper sorrow. Tails had been a constant in Sonic's life. Like a rock he could cling to in his lifestyle so rife with change.

"How pathetic." The black and red hedgehog snapped. "You were always soft Sonic." The blue hedgehog remained still, his back to him. "You know the Confederates are gonna be here in two years and yet you waste your time lamenting over some fox?" A fist came flying through the air, and having expected it Shadow caught the swing in his open palm. "You can do better than that!" He snarled, before smashing a knee into Sonic's body sending him staggering backwards his arms hugging his stomach. "Show me you've still got what it takes to be this worlds protector!" Shadow raced forward with a fist held back throwing it forward into Sonic's face. At the last second, the blue hedgehog dodged around it before swinging a super fast kick around trying to catch Shadow of guard.

The black and red hedgehog blocked the attack with his arms and then in retaliation hammered home a succession of strong and fast punches directly into Sonic's face. Staggering back, Sonic feigned injury just long enough to catch Sonic off guard by hammering a knee directly into his stomach. Stunned, the black and red hedgehog left himself open to several sharp and precise kicks, quickly finished off by a swift upper cut across the chin.

Catching himself in mid air, Shadow dragged his arm back before firing a rapid course of Chaos Spear attacks down at him. Sonic broke into a run and Shadow quickly followed, drawing up along side. "Ask yourself this question Sonic." The black and red hedgehog began as the blue hedgehog shot him a glance. "Do you think Tails would want you moping around like some sulking child while there was work to be done?" A kick came out of nowhere and Sonic parried it off, before running backwards with Shadow in hot pursuit. "No, he'd want you to stand your ground and fight; like you always have!" Sonic shot forward at the last second with a punch that knocked Shadow back several feet.

The black and red hedgehog came to a stop a couple of feet away, blood running from his nose. He wiped his away with the back of his glove and righted himself. "You want Tails to get home only to find the planet torn apart by Confederates? Or maybe when he gets here everyone will be right here to thrown him a welcome home party?" Sonic swallowed a lump his throat and fixed Shadow with a glare.

From a rock formation some distance away, Metal Sonic watched them both. His arms were folded and a brand new cape, this one blood red as apposed to purple flapping from his shoulders. The Metal X icon stamped on the back in gold.

He could fly in now and finish them both off in an instant, ending this game. He could, but it was something he could not do. Too much had happened to lessen the murderous rage that had once held him. The world needed Sonic at the moment and apart from anything else, Metal Sonic was actually looking forward to their next encounter and their next duel.

He was a machine he knew that, built as an assassin to destroy his organic template. But he had grown, he was more than that now and some day; he was going to prove that to Sonic.

_"Until next time."_ He announced into the air before turning, his cape flowing out behind him the robotic hedgehog leapt into the air and soured away becoming a blinking dot on the horizon.

"So, whattya say Sonic?" Shadow asked after the silence endured for a while. "Up for a two year training course?" Sonic's expression didn't falter. Only when a dark shadow fell over them both did he move. Looking up, both hedgehog's saw the Blue Typhoon passing over. The ship had been completed fitting out with new armaments, several new engine on the back and even a fresh coat of paint. The ship came to a stop overhead, half eclipsing the light from the sun.

Sonic remained perfectly motionless, staring up at the ship. A brief flash of memory passed through his mind as he beheld Tails' pride and joy. There was a short flash, and he disappeared through Chaos Control; reappearing on the front deck almost directly in front of the bridge itself. Amy was there waiting for him, standing on the deck her hammer posed on one shoulder. Beyond her and the glass was the bridge, and nearly everyone who had gone to Mars after Metal X was there. Okida, all of Freelance Division, Omega, Chuck and Chris.

"We've got work to do Sonic." Shadow reminded him. The blue hedgehog looked back to see the dark hedgehog standing on the tip of the deck with his arms crossed. Standing beside him, the wind causing her dreadlocks to dance was Tikal. A smile on her face.

"So Sonic, what's it going to be?" Amy asked from beyond him. Sonic looked down at his shoes for a moment, conflicting thoughts running through his mind. He turned and looked back for a moment at the crew of the ship there. None of them were giving up. Shadow was right, Tails would want him to carry on as well like he always had. The confederates were on their way huh? Well, he for one was going to make their stay very uncomfortable. His frown vanished to be replaced by a wide characteristic grin.

"I'll see you when I see you little buddy..." He whispered into the air, before swinging around to face Shadow; his feet spinning into a blur as he shot towards him. Shadow smirked and raced forward as he brought his left hand up, the outline of his glove beginning to glow a neon green.

Sonic speed up into the air, then came out of his spin and began free falling towards the dark hedgehog; his legs threw himself out and in seconds his foot became lost in an orange glow as the friction of the air around him began burning.

Leaping into the air, Shadow came coursing to meet him with the hand held ready to strike. Time seemed to slow down as the two attacks neared each other until finally it froze. The Dark Ages were finally over.

* * *

End lyrics

Mirai

Are you prepared to go on the journey?

Just one more morning to come,

Put on a new shirt and,

Sneak out into the night,

Today, the city won't sleep either,

It will just watch quietly,

What you and I will start!

To be shine, to be free,

Do not be bewildered,

The waves of time are strong but gentle,

Very soon, very soon, I'm going out to meet you,

Together, our world will shine,

To be shine, to be free,

Don't be frightened,

The waves of time are strong but gentle,

We'll meet in that far and distant city,

Very soon, very soon, I'm going out to meet you,

Let's go and find our future.

-------------------------------

Wow…I actually did it! Dark Ages is complete, but I'm not finished yet. I plan on doing at least one more instalment…the movie adaptation I promised!

What did people think huh? Really I want to know! I've been writing this series for a year now!

People may have noticed all the cliff hangers…well that was intentional. I purposely kept it that way so I'd have readers on the edge of their seats all the way up until the finale.

Cutting room floor:

Things originally planned to include but going removed:

Sara: That's right, I planned to have the cat girl from the Sonic OVA in here but she got dumped pretty early on.

Death Egg: I admit, I really did want to add this in but it would have been a little too impractical for the story.

Super Emeralds: These I could have used, but it wouldn't have fitted in with the other elements. Perhaps they'll be included in the movie fic?

The guns: Yes I actually DID consider Shadow using these. But I dropped it in the end, thinking that Sega just added them into the new game as a cheap stunt. I'm not going to sink that low.

Blaze: The queen from Sonic Rush? Yes the thought of using her crossed my mind, but she was eventually left out. Perhaps she'll be used later on?

Sonic 3D adaptation: The thought did cross my mind…

As for the up-coming movie:

I'm still in the planning stages, but it'll be set six months after Dark Ages and before the Confederates reach Earth. I'm welcoming all idea's put forth but people, please remember you can't all get your character included and that's IF I feel like I need more characters. Managing the official set plus a few of my own is difficult enough.


End file.
